The Stone

Once, long ago, very long ago, a stone fell from the sky, and landed in the sand of a distant desert. It fell with such a force that it buried itself deep down inside a sand dune.

When it fell it was nothing much to look at... just a lump of rock. It looked very rough and irregular. It was not a very interesting colour. It was not a very interesting shape, and anyway, it couldn't be looked at, because it was deep down, under the desert sand.

There it lay for a very great number of years, hundreds, thousands perhaps. Hidden, unknown and unnoticed, in the dark.

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The desert winds blew, and caught up tiny grains of sand in their motion. Slowly, very slowly, the sand covering the stone was blown away, and scattered across the desert to form new sand dunes, for the face of the desert is always changing.

And so the stone came to be on the surface of the desert. It was still nothing much to look at, but now it could be seen, because it was above the desert sand. In the light.

There it lay for a long, long time.

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The desert winds blew, and caught up tiny grains of sand in their motion. The desert winds began to shape the stone, grinding it with the sand. Slowly, very slowly, the stone began to change. The rough surface of the stone was ground off and blown away, and scattered across the desert to form new sand dunes, for the face of the desert is always changing.

And so the stone came to be smooth, and evenly shaped, and on those few days in the desert when the rains came to wet the stone, it shone as though it had been polished by a careful hand.

There it lay for a long, long time.

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The desert travellers came, and caught up the stone in their motion. Slowly, very slowly, their caravan carried the stone to a town that had built up around an oasis, for the face of the desert is always changing.

In the town the stone passed through many hands. It was first used to hold open the door of a house, so that cool fresh air could be let in. After that it was used to grind seeds for cooking. Then it was placed in a corner of a room, and a small vase of flowers was put on it. Sometimes, on cool evenings, it would be taken out into the garden of the house, where instead of a vase of flowers, a lamp stood on the stone, so that the people of the house could sit in the garden, and talk and eat and drink and dance and sing until after dark.

Next it was given to a sculptor, who made the stone into the shape of a bird's egg, and carved a stand for it out of sandalwood.

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The stone and its stand were bought by a young woman, who took it home and put it on a small table beside her bed, believing it would bring her a child.

Every night, before she slept, she would look at the stone, and pray to the Goddess for a child. And every day when she awoke she would do the same.

On hot days she would take the stone from its stand, and hold it in the palms of her hands to keep them cool. And when she went to the bazaar in the town, she would take the stone with her in a small bag made of the finest silk, and worn on a sash around her waist. And when she returned to her house she would take the stone from its silken bag, and return it to its place on the sandalwood stand on the table beside her bed.

Every night, before she slept, she would look at the stone, and pray to the Goddess for a child. And every day when she awoke she would do the same.

And so, a year later, on the day that she had bought the stone and its sandalwood stand from the sculptor, the woman lay with the man she loved and conceived a child.

This she knew.

When she awoke she looked at the stone, and prayed to the Goddess, and gave thanks. Then she took the hand of the man she loved, and together they walked out into the garden, where they stood in silence to watch the dawn.

Every day when she awoke, she would look at the stone, and pray to the Goddess, and give thanks. And every night she would do the same.

Until one night she could look at the stone, and pray to the Goddess, and give thanks for the birth of her daughter.

The desert winds blew, and caught up tiny grains of sand in their motion, and scattered them across the desert to form new sand dunes, for the face of the desert is always changing.

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The child grew, and was strong, and fair to see. She was a happy child, and was loved by her mother and father.

On her twelfth birthday her mother gave her the stone, and its sandalwood stand, and the small bag made of the finest silk.

On hot days she would take the stone from its stand, and hold it in the palms of her hands to keep them cool. When she went outside the house to play with her young friends, she would take the stone with her in the silken bag, which she wore on a sash around her waist. And when she returned, she would take the stone from its silken bag, and return it to its sandalwood stand on the table beside her bed.

Every night, before she slept, she would look at the stone. And every day when she awoke she would do the same, for she loved the stone, and believed it would bring her good luck.

One hot day she held the stone in the palms of her hands to keep them cool as she walked in the garden, but lost her grip for a moment and the stone...

...fell...

struck the ground and shattered in to a great many pieces.

The young girl cried to see the stone was broken, but then through her tears she saw that one of the pieces was not the same as the others. She reached out, and picked it up, and saw that it was not ordinary stone, but a beautiful crystal.

A diamond. It seemed to sparkle and shine with a light of its own, and deep within the diamond, at its centre, was a tiny spark of clear golden light.

No one knows where the stone came from, but some say it fell from the Sun.

And some say it will return there one day.

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The desert winds blew, and caught up tiny grains of sand in their motion, and scattered them across the desert to form new sand dunes, for the face of the desert is always changing...

...for the face of the desert is always changing...

...for the face of the desert is always changing...