Leonie is a great artist... but THIS story is about her great relative far far back in Egyptian times...
There once was a GREAT Egyptian stone carver who was commissioned by the Queen of Egypt to make a SPECIAL gift for her King's 50th birthday. It had to be one-of-a-kind and the most valuable thing in all the world. The stone carver thought for a long while. What could he make for the king that would be more valuable than all others in the kingdom?
One night he sat on his porch whittling a chunk of wood to get some ideas. He threw it aside... "That's no good," he yelled and threw it on the pile of the others. As he picked up another chunk of wood, ready to start whittling again he looked up in the sky. He could see in the distance a strange light as it trailed to the ground. Mesmerized by the sight he dropped the chunk of wood and his carving knife and started walking into the desert. Over the hill he climbed until he saw the light drop to the ground. He could see it glowing red. It took him over an hour to find the thing that fell from the sky. Its glow was almost out by the time he reached it.
"A gift from the Gods" he thought. "This will make the perfect gift for the King. I will fashion it into a fine amulet for the king to wear. I will dip it in gold and the Queen will be so pleased." He bent down to touch it... Expecting it to be hot he was surprised to find it was cool to the touch. It was about six inches square and a quarter inch thick. On it were triangles and points of different shapes that rose up from the top to form a pyramid. "Now I KNOW this is a gift from the Gods. This is no man made thing... even I could not make such delicate carvings."
As he started walking for home, still holding the rock, he was taken away by his dreams. He dreamt of the King and Queen giving him a big party in his honour. And of the whole kingdom telling him how grand he was for making such a wonderful gift. He saw his life of good fortune pass before him as he lives to be a ripe old age.
He awoke with a start... his wife was yelling at him to wake up! How had he made it home? He didn't remember the walk. The sun was coming up in the sky. How long had he been gone? "Are you awake," he heard her ask? "Oh... Yes... I'm awake..." He quickly put the rock in his pocket.
He ate a quick breakfast and then went to his workshop. He drilled a small hole for a chain in the rock and dipped it in the gold several times. When it was finished he fashioned a chain of gold and threaded it through the hole for the King to wear around his neck. He builds a nice box and laid the finished amulet in the box. It was ready for the King's birthday.
The night of the party the whole kingdom was there, in the grand ballroom, as he walked up to the King and Queen to present his gift. His heart beat so loudly he was sure everyone could hear it. If the King and Queen did not approve he would surely loose his head! He presented the gift to the King and the whole room was silent with anticipation. The King opened the box, held the amulet and stood silent staring at it for about 20 minutes before the Queen shook him. With eyes WIDE opened he declared it a SPLENDID GIFT! The Queen placed the amulet around the Kings neck and the whole room gasped at it gleamed in the candlelit room. The King announced that there would be a grand party in the stone carver’s honour the next night. "Anyone that can carve with such intricate detail is a man to be honored," he bellowed. Everyone cheered and the stone carver breathes a sigh of relief.
The next few days were filled with dancing, laughter, and LOTS of food and wine. It was the happiest time the carver would remember looooooong into his golden years. From that day on his business grew and he had wonderful good luck. The King too lived a long and prosperous life. He wore the amulet at all the grand events and whenever there was a battle to be won he was there leading the fight. No one could quite explain his good fortune.
As the stone carver lay on his death bed he remembers that first day he found the strange rock and the dream he had walking home. It is then that he realizes that his life was EXACTLY as the rock had showed him! At the bottom of his bed he sees a ghostly figure... It tells him that it is pleased with his life and that he and his ancestors will continue to have good fortune.
And that is why... it is to no one's surprise that Leonie created a piece of artwork EXACTLY like the one her ancester found! :)
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