The Ruby That Chose Its Box

Four friends had crossed high passes and followed winding rivers on a long journey toward Srinagar.

They had shared their bread, carried one another's bundles, and helped each other through every difficulty. By the time they reached the busy market, they had only one valuable possession left: a deep red ruby wrapped in soft cloth.

"We can sell it and buy what we need to travel home," they decided.

A jeweller examined the stone.

"This is a fine ruby," she said, "but a merchant reported losing one just like it yesterday. Until we know the truth, I cannot buy it."

The friends were worried. They had carried the ruby from the beginning of their journey, but they had no paper proving it belonged to them.

The question was taken to the local ruler's court.

The ruler did not call the friends thieves. Instead, she listened to their account and then invited the merchant who had lost a ruby.

"Can either of you describe your stone in a way that will help us recognize it?" she asked.

The merchant said his ruby was perfectly smooth.

One of the travellers shook her head. "Ours has a tiny hollow on one side."

Another added, "Inside the hollow is a speck shaped like a crescent moon."

The ruler asked her jewellers to prepare five closed boxes. Into each they placed a ruby. One held the travellers' stone with its tiny crescent-shaped mark.

"You may examine the boxes, but you may not open them," said the ruler. "If your description is true, perhaps you can find another way to identify your ruby."

The four friends worked together. One lifted each box and compared its weight. Another listened while the boxes were gently tilted. The third remembered that their ruby had once caught on the soft cloth around it.

The fourth friend noticed a single red thread peeking from the corner of one box.

"When our ruby's hollow caught the wrapping, it pulled a thread loose," she said. "We believe it is in this box."

The ruler opened it. There lay the ruby, with a thread caught in its tiny hollow and the crescent-shaped speck shining inside.

The merchant examined it and agreed that it was not his missing stone.

The friends thanked the ruler for hearing them fairly. The jeweller bought the ruby for an honest price, and the travellers purchased food and warm clothes for the road.

Before leaving, they returned to the court.

"Was it magic that helped you choose the correct box?" the ruler asked.

"Not magic," said the youngest friend. "Each of us remembered one small truth. Only when we shared what we knew did the whole answer appear."