The smith’s boy received a red rock;
the baker’s boy, a black one;
the miller’s boy, a green one;
and the youngest — the salter’s boy —
to his delight accepted a chunk of misty-milky crystal through which he could view the world.
He peered into and beyond his gift. He cried out to his brothers, “All about us stand invisible rooms and stairways. I can almost see them with my stone.”
The older brothers laughed good-naturedly and let the lad believe as he might.
