A sailor was blown off course in a storm, and landed on a little island that he had never visited before. There was a little town there on the island and all the people were very excited about something. They were calling out to each other, "Hurrah! The Finder Has found TWO this time!"
When the sailor asked them to explain, the people told Him: "There is a diamond mine on our island. All day the Finder searches in the mine for Diamonds. Each week he finds a diamond for the town. We take the Diamond to the mainland to sell. It is enough to buy food for everyone for the week. We all are happy today because this week, he has found two diamonds. That means that we can buy food for the week, and also buy lumber to build a house. We want our town to grow, and now we can bring another family to live on our island.
"Why don't all the people go into the mine to find diamonds?" asked the sailor.
"Oh, no." was the reply, " There are many false diamonds in the mine. Only the Finder knows how to examine the stones and tell the worthless from the true treasure."
Curious, the sailor went down to the mine to see for himself. There was a man hard at work. This was The Finder. He was alone, digging and digging. Soon The Finder put down his shovel. He loaded up big buckets with the dirt and stones, and tied ropes onto them. He hauled them up out of the mine and dumped them on the sand outside. Then he went into the mine again, but he did not look for diamonds.
First, he had to take big beams of wood and hammer them in place to hold up the walls and ceiling of the mine so that the roof would not cave in while dug. Then the Finder stopped to cook his dinner, and eat, and wash up. He walked up to the spring, for a drink of cold water.
Then, at last, he went back down into the mine to search for diamonds. But now it was getting late, and the Finder did not work for long, because it was growing too dark to see. So he made his way home emptyhanded, and stumbled into bed weary and exhausted. The sailor shook his head in amazement. This was too much work for one man! Surely the townspeople must be lazy.
The next day the sailor awoke to the sounds of great activity. He walked to the middle of the town and found the men hard at work, too. They were building a house for the new family that was to come from the mainland to live on the island. No, the people were not lazy, just mixed-up.
"Why don't you dig in the mine?" He asked the men with shovels. They stared at him in confusion. Work in the mine?
"Oh no," they answered, "That is the job of the Diamond Finder."
"You can dig the foundations of a house!" cried the sailor. "Some of you take your shovels and buckets to the mine! And you, " he turned to the carpenters, "Why aren't you putting up beams in the mine?"
"Oh no," they answered, "That is the job of the Diamond Finder."
"You can hammer up beams to a house!" said the sailor. "Some of you take your tools and lumber to the mine!"
Up walked a few people loaded down with steaming trays of food and tall pitchers of cold water for the workers.
"Fools!" shouted the sailor, "Take some of that food to the mine. How can your Diamond Finder find anything if he has to keep stopping to do other tasks?"
"O no," they began....
But the sailor would have none of it. "Don't all of the people share in the benefit of the diamonds that are found in the mines? Then all must share in the work."
Suddenly, The sailor felt the winds change. He knew that he must go now while the weather was in his favor. So he boarded his little boat and sailed home.
Time went by, and the sailor often thought of The Island of the Diamonds, and wondered how the foolish people were getting along. And so it was, a year later, that he took his little boat and sailed off to find out.
What a surprise greeted him there!
The little town had grown to be a large and beautiful, prosperous city. And at the mine, there was such a tremendous business there.
Big crews of workers were hard at work, digging, hauling, and hammering. The sailor heard a loud whistle blown, and all the people stopped for dinner. Up out of the mine came Four Diamond Finders, carrying a dish piled high with the precious gems! !
For now that the Finder was no longer bothered with other tasks, he had time to train others to search for the true treasures among the false.
