Back in the Great Realm, the King readied his gift. He summoned his finest jewelers and had them prepare his largest, most beautiful, and most dazzling stone for transfer to the New Realm. It was the absolute finest jewel imaginable. Its brilliance was like no other gem ever seen before; in fact, it was so bright that all who prepared it had to wear a special covering over their eyes so as not to be blinded by its radiant light.
Soon, the special day of delivery arrived, and the King did exactly as promised. In the middle of the night, he and his servants moved the massive stone into place so that it sat right in the middle of the Kingdom’s square.
A large crowd gathered around the magnificent gem early the next morning. However, instead of marveling at the great stone for its beauty and radiant brilliance, the growing crowd found the massive rock, as they saw it, to be nothing more than a nuisance. No one, of course, knew how it had gotten there. Some were miffed at its location. Others were angry. Most all agreed that the rock made moving around the square difficult. “How can we conduct business with this massive rock in our way?” they cried. “We can’t even move around the town square.”
Of course, the Curse had blinded the citizens. They could not see the stone for what it was. They did not see a brilliant, radiant jewel that had been sent by the King as a gift for their enjoyment. Neither did they see it as a means of entering the King’s hidden castle, that magnificent structure where they could visit with the great King and experience the joy that he still longed to share with them.
All they saw was a very large rock.
Many argued over its origin. Some said it had fallen down off the mountain. Others suggested that it had been dropped in by an angry god who wanted to punish them. Still others offered the notion that it was an evil ploy from the wicked King—that somehow it was meant to harm the residents of the kingdom. They encouraged everyone to stay away from it.
And yet, there were those who saw it for what it really was. They recognized it as the promised gift from the King. They valued its beauty, its brilliance. They knew of its magic. These were the residents who had read and believed the proclamations sent by the King, the declarations that told of a wonderful gift that was coming. These residents recognized the magnificent jewel as the pride and joy of the King’s treasure, and the means of gaining access to his magic palace and the Cup of Unspeakable Joy.
Nevertheless, as was said, the vast majority were blind and could not see. Its magic simply had no effect on them at all, and they decided they must get rid of it. After determining that the rock was safe to be around, they decided they must smash it up and carry away its dust and its broken pieces.
Kingdom dwellers from far and near brought their axes and their picks. They worked day and night. They took few breaks. The rock was in the way, a nuisance. It had to go—and fast!
And so, before long, the beautiful gift of the King—the crown jewel of his splendid treasure—was nothing but tiny pieces of dust, and it was being carried out and sprinkled all over the land.
Now you might think that watching his massive crown jewel be demolished by the ungrateful residents of the Second Realm was very painful for the King. However, their reaction to the great stone was exactly what the King had expected. It brought him great joy, in fact, to see it broken, for he knew that in time every piece of that jewel and every particle of its dust would eventually be carried back into his palace by those who trusted him, those who saw the jewel as a gift. The King knew that one day the magnificent gem would be completely and fully restored to its original beauty.
He also knew that throughout the years, many of those whom he had cursed would one day see the beauty offered to them in the form of the jewel. He knew that they would know the joy that he longed to grant them as they presented a piece to him. He knew that in time his palace would be full of happy, joyful servants for ages to come as future generations, upon reading the proclamations sent and upon finding particles of the broken stone scattered throughout, would recognize his gift and bring pieces of it as a tribute to him.
In time, every bit of the crushed jewel would be collected, every fragment gathered. It all would be presented at the mountain base as a sign of belief in the King and his gift. This meant that in time not only was the beautiful King’s prize jewel fully restored to its dazzling beauty, but his massive castle was full and overflowing with those who had once been cursed but who could now see all the good and all the beauty of the land. And, more so, they could now know the lasting and peaceful joy of the gracious, loving King—a joy unspeakable.