Something about diamonds: a pseudo children's story

Among the lined-up diamonds was one that did not sparkle.

While all her friends gleamed and shone and emitted rainbows of light,

she stood in her corner and looked up at the ceiling

and mourned that she was coated in a dull gray sheen.

Now whether she had never had any sparkle,

or had lost it all through the trials of diamond life,

no one would know:

all anyone knew was that among the lined-up diamonds was one that did not sparkle.

And as time went by her companions started to disappear,

one chosen to be set into a beautiful engagement ring,

one to grace the elegant neck of a rich lady,

yet another pair to form sparkling earrings for fancy balls,

and all the while the diamond that did not sparkle remained;

and a whole new set of sparkling diamonds poured in,

but among them all was one that did not sparkle.

One day a master jeweler came to examine the sparkling diamonds,

and all the others started preening and trying to make the best of themselves:

they turned to catch the light, rolled over to hide a flaw,

positioned themselves so they would be the first to catch his eye;

but the one that did not sparkle sat forlornly in her corner,

knowing she would not be chosen,

for she was the diamond that did not sparkle.

The jeweler looked and looked among the sparkling diamonds, but could not decide

(for all the gems were perfect, you see, and how do you fix perfection?)

He had just about decided to give up and search somewhere else,

when something, a discernment of a shape in the darkness,

or a faint gleam shining forth through the grime,

called his eye to the corner,

where the diamond who did not sparkle hid.

He smiled, reached in and grabbed this diamond

(and immediately all the others were full of murmurs,

for they knew that this was a diamond that was never chosen)

but the jeweler ignored them all and turned to the counter:

“I want this one,” he said, with a smile so enigmatic the cashier didn’t even question him,

simply raised her eyebrows and murmured, “well if you want

the diamond that does not sparkle.”

The jeweler took the diamond home and set it on the table;

for a while he just smiled at it, turned it over to admire its delicate cut,

and she began to wonder if maybe she hadn’t been chosen by a crazy man.

Finally he set her back, sighed deeply, and pulled out his kit.

“You know,” he said, “this is going to be a painful process,

for me no less than for you. So I’m giving you a choice:

if you want to remain as you are, I shan’t touch you,

but if you choose, you can sparkle as brightly as your companions.”

The diamond had never heard words like these ones.

Without even a second thought, she exclaimed:

“Of course I choose to sparkle! I have always wanted to sparkle!”

The jeweler smiled and nodded his head, then set to work,

to bring a sparkle to the diamond who did not sparkle.

The time passed slowly, and with excruciating pain:

the diamond that did not sparkle felt as though her very insides were being burned out,

and indeed the jeweler quickly learned that her dull gray sheen was not just a sheen,

but a darkness that penetrated to her core;

but he was an expert, master jeweler,

and he knew how to take an imperfect diamond, and make it shine,

and he knew how to do that in such a way that would not damage,

the future sparkle of the diamond who did not sparkle.

There were so many times when she wanted to beg him to quit,

so many times when she felt she couldn’t take another instant of pain,

but she closed her eyes and said to herself “someday you, too, will sparkle,

and you will never again be called the diamond that does not sparkle.”

Finally, the jeweler’s work was finished:

he set his tools aside and turned the diamond over and over,

examining every facet, searching for a hint of the murky grayness:

he found nothing that could prevent her from sparkling,

and yet she still did not gleam or shine or emit a single rainbow of light.

The jeweler said to her, "I have given you the gift of the ability to sparkle,

but the choice is yours: whether or not you sparkle brighter than all other,

or always remain a diamond that does not sparkle."

The next morning the jeweler woke up and there,

on his worktable, lay the most brilliant diamond he had ever laid eyes on.

The diamond smiled up at him in delight.

“Thank you, dear sir. Thank you for saving me!”

He simply smiled and said,

“From now on you shall be known

as the diamond who sparkles eternally.”