A Short Story to Become a Masterpiece.
In a beautiful city stood a museum. Its floor was laid with marble tiles, and a huge marble statue stood at the centre. Many people from all over the world visited the museum everyday and admired the beautifully crafted statue.
One night, a marble tile spoke to the statue, “Hey, we’re from the same town originally. We were picked up from the same mine, transported on the same lorry, brought to the very same sculptor. Why do people travel here to step on me while admiring you? That’s unfair.
The marble statue replied, “My dear friend, oh tile do you remember how both of us sat there side by side I the sculptor’s workshop in our original forms as marble blocks? And do you recollect how the sculptor chose to work on you first? He started using his tools on you simply to turn you into a masterpiece. But you resisted. You started falling apart.”
“Of course I remember,” said the marble tile, “I hate that guy. How could he use those sharp tools on me? It hurts so badly.” The marble statue continued, “That’s right. When you couldn’t take the pain of his tools he decided to give up on you and start working on me instead. I knew at once, that if I had to be something different, I would have to bear the pain. Thinking so, instead of resisting, I bore all the pain of the sharp tools he used on me. My friend, there is a price to everything in life. Since you decided to give up halfway, you cannot blame anybody who steps on you now.”
Life as a sculptor, wants to make a masterpiece out of you. The question is whether you are ready to handle every test, every hard knock, every trouble, every failure: all the pain that comes from these sculpting tools and become a masterpiece. Or do you grumble or crumble down to simply become a tile. That is what decides whether people step on you or admire you as you become a role model for someone to emulate.
If this short tale pushed you to reflect on what ‘masterpiece’ really means, read The Race of Life: A Short Story next – another quick read that lands a sharper life lesson.
Want more examples? Explore Thousands of Short Stories to Read Online, a rich archive that spans genres and styles.
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