Diamond Ring

Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Pari near a beautiful hill station, which was a tourist spot. Every day hundreds of tourists thronged to the place to drink in the hill's beauty. In winter, snow-capped mountains were a beautiful sight to behold. Pari’s father worked as a tourist guide, but his income earned was not enough to meet the house demands. She had been deprived of her mother’s love since her childhood. 

One day, Pari scrambled up the hill with an umbrella in her hand. The soothing wind transformed into a howling one vibrating the entire hill. Pari expected to rain as her eyes gazed at the black ball of clouds spreading fast, absorbing the sunlight. She reached the uphill and looked at the beautiful flowers sprung up near the edge; on the other side of the hill was a stream whose voice echoed across the hill. Clouds merged and spawned raindrops on the earth. Pari pulled her umbrella in front, pressed it open, and held it above her head. She could listen to the pattering sound of raindrops peppering over her umbrella. 

The lush greenery leveraged its beauty by sipping the raindrops. Pari preferred staying there for a while to render company to rain God. A heartfelt smile exercised her facial muscles to manifest her beauty. She ceased her smile as soon as she heard the whimper of a rabbit. She looked terrified as the whimper grew in size, drawing her attention. Pari paced towards the direction in which the sound was emanating. She quickly spotted a rabbit lying among stinging nettles. Tears rolled over her cheeks, unable to digest the pain of the poor animal. Despite the nettles stinging her hands ruthlessly, she saved the rabbit from potential death. Rain God signed off. To her disbelief, the rabbit slipped out of her hands and slid down the hillside into the stream that was rushing between the colossal boulders. Pari scrambled down the hillside and dashed into the stream and was gaining on the animal. A smile sprang on her face the moment she got her hands on the rabbit.

Rabbit transformed into God Vishnu. Pari couldn’t believe her eyes. She was extremely lucky to have won the chance to behold Lord Vishnu in front of her. She prostrated before the Lord with divine tears dripping off her eyes. The power of bliss surged through her body, bringing in the charm over her face courtesy of Lord Vishnu.

“You saved the rabbit putting your own life at risk,” he said. “I want to bless you with a diamond ring.”

Words couldn’t escape from Pari’s mouth as she was enchanted by Lord Vishnu. She just stood there, folding her hands in devotion.

“Here is your diamond ring. This is not an ordinary ring,” he said. “You can ask for anything with this ring if your intentions are noble. Only you can reap the benefits rendered by this ring.”

The girl stood silent, perking up her ears with the Lord’s words.

“If your intentions are evil, then you will have to pay a hefty price for it.” Vishnu disappeared.

Pari looked around, moved a few paces to check if the Lord was hiding somewhere, but to no avail. She felt blessed to have a magical diamond ring in her hand. She sauntered down-home to convey the matter to her father, who initially denied the power of diamond but was astonished when it created a well obliging to the order of Pari. The entire village people could use the well to supply water to their home, otherwise, they will have to walk an extra mile to the river.

Soon the news went viral in the village. The financially stable families were now envious of Pari and her father, who possessed a priceless diamond ring that changed their life altogether. Pari wasn’t a greedy girl to ask for bungalows or gold jewellery. She used diamond rings for noble purposes, which benefitted the entire village. She never used the diamond ring to satisfy her personal cravings. The people well-received her idea to develop and empower the entire village. They lauded Pari for taking up such an initiative at such a young age. Had she desired, she could have lived like a rich girl taking full advantage of the diamond and could have made the villagers her slave. Her father was extremely proud of his daughter; he embraced her and shed joyous tears.

Rahim was indifferent to the idea of Pari empowering the village with the help of her diamond ring. He wished he had possession of the ring so that he could leave the place and live abroad with luxury. After pondering over his cruel thoughts for a while, he decided to steal the diamond from Pari. If it wasn’t enough, he also planned to kill her taking the advantage of the diamond. On one hand, is a generous girl who wants the entire village to get benefitted from the ring, and on the other was a greedy man who was ready to go beyond limits by killing the girl with the ring. 

He deftly scanned the ring, thinking that it would be instrumental in him being rich.

“Let Pari die this very moment,” he cursed.

He donned a burst of wicked laughter, expecting the ring to oblige his request. Unfortunately for him, the ring did just the opposite. His purpose was evil and, as Lord Vishnu had said, you will pay a hefty price if you use it for evil purposes. Rahim lost his consciousness and fell to the ground. His movement ceased permanently. One day, a schoolboy spotted him lying motionless, and he spread the news to the entire village. People couldn’t believe it as his fingers still gripped the diamond ring. They understood the reason for his death and soon transported the information to Pari, who looked terrified after losing the ring. Upon reaching the place with his father, she pulled the ring from his hand. Had she wanted, she could have just left the place, but she used the ring to save Rahim. Tears propelled out of his eyes as the reality struck him deep. He begged Pari for mercy and the latter, as always, proved why she was the best in the village. Thereafter, no one tried to steal the ring and everyone lived happily.

Moral of the story:

1) It is okay if you can’t help others, but don’t harm them.

2) Stealing others’ possession will never bring you joy.