Benitoite

“Ugly...” That's what the human said as the wee jewel was tossed to the ground. A shallow puddle of mud and water greeted the fragile metal piece with a slosh sound. The human made a feeble attempt to retrieve it, then waved a hand to dismiss the idea and walked on. Ugly... that is what now titled the precious piece.

“Why am I ugly?” the jewel said to itself. Its tiny, diminutive sobs sounded like tiny hammers marking and making their way to help the creation come to life. Looking at its mud-coated body, it now knew why it was called ugly... and cried softly again.

Birds came and went, crows and pigeons pecked at the delicate body. One crow decided to play with it and tossed it a short distance, only to watch it fall into the mud again. The jewel was silent during the torment, yet all the while, it was reminded of how ugly it was...

Until one day when an old woman came along. There was something special about this old gal and the tiny sobs made her stop. She turned and as she painfully knelt some to inspect the mud, she spotted a shining spot coming out from that mud.

“What now here?” Her voice cracked with the tell-tale signs of age. Her hands trembled so with palsy, yet her touch was gentle. Her clothing was not the best of shape, yet it fit her fine. Wiping some of the mud off of the jewel, the old woman's eyes shone a bit. “Oh ho... so that's what you're hiding, deary.” Again, her voice was gentle amid-st the crackles of age.

The jewel stopped its sobbings and watched as the old woman looked it over. It stayed perfectly still while the mud stubbornly revealed the beauty beneath it. The old woman smiled some and... the jewel seemed to smile. Wrapping the delicate piece in a bit of cloth, the old woman took the jewel back to her humble abode. It wasn't much of a house... a chair and a simple table, wee bed off to the side... yet it was warm and provided comfort. Upon the mantle of the small hearth sat a couple of other tokens of the old woman's findings and another jewel as well.

Warm water cascaded over the jewel's body as the old woman took great care in cleaning it and revealed its true beauty. “My my... aren't you a sight!” the old woman declared. The other jewel the old woman had seemed to sing as it, too, saw how beautiful the new one was. Gently drying the jewel with a soft cloth, she introduced it to the menagerie she had sitting upon the mantle and placed the new jewel in the middle... right next to the first one she had found discarded long ago.

Days and nights passed. The wee Hubble was warm now in more than one way... and so was the wee jewel that now knew how beautiful it was and still is.