Read an Excerpt
Stonecutter
By Jon J Muth, John Kuramoto Feiwel and Friends
Copyright © 1994 John Kuramoto
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4668-7143-4
CHAPTER 1
The stonecutter stood before the stone, deciding where to begin.
When at last he chose the proper spot, he drove the chisel into the stone with the hammer.
The work was long, and slow, and difficult.
The stonecutter's hands were as strong and rough as the stone they cut.
As he worked, the stonecutter thought to himself, "This stone is as old as the earth, and will be here long after I am gone."
"Each night I go home covered in dust millions of years old."
"Each morning I go to cut stones again, just as I have done my entire life.
Is there nothing more for me?"
The stonecutter chiseled the stone into blocks, cutting each block according to the stone's natural shape.
"Perhaps this will be made into bricks for a temple, or a wealthy man's palace."
"Perhaps it will be carved into a beautiful sculpture."
"But I have only uncarved blocks to offer."
The stone yielded to the stonecutter's tools in fragments, taking shape under his hands.
"I have no authority. I have no power."
When he finished the stone block, he took it to town to sell.
There he passed by many merchants, and finally sold his block to one of them.
The stonecutter looked at the merchant, wearing clothes rich and fine.
And he knew that the merchant would sell the stone block for much more money than he had given the stonecutter, without the slightest labor on his part.
The stonecutter cursed his aching back. He cursed his poverty and lowly status.
He cursed the past that brought him here and the future that would take him nowhere.
He decided to abandon his life as a stonecutter and become a merchant.
And so he became a merchant, trading things instead of making them, and he became very rich.
He lived in luxury, without having to work hard, for now there were others to do the hard work for him.
His hands became delicate and soft, his manners refined.
Other people envied his good fortune.
But one day, a high official passed by in a grand procession, and everyone, rich or poor, had to bow down to him.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Stonecutter by Jon J Muth, John Kuramoto. Copyright © 1994 John Kuramoto. Excerpted by permission of Feiwel and Friends.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
