In the deep ocean, at the very bottom, beautiful corals grew. Those were plants of different colors. Some were bigger, some smaller. They were red, yellow, green and orange. They rippled in the water in different ways. depending on where the current was going. These corals were home to some small fish, but also many shells. They hid in them from various fishermen and divers. They were hiding because they were keeping something precious inside. Each shell had a beautiful pearl inside it. White as snow.
Between the red and blue coral there was one precious shell. It lived there happily, protecting the pearl it had. The shell was closed and the pearl was hidden. If anyone wanted to take it, they would have to open the shell. But the shell wouldn’t allow that. When someone tried to open it by force, it closed so tightly that no one could move it.
One day, the shell was resting among its coral when, at that moment, the water around it completely swelled up and bubbles appeared around it. The clam knew what this meant. A diver was approaching, wanting her pearl. And she was right. A moment later, a large figure appeared, swimming around her, inspecting her. It was a diver, wondering how to get the shell to open. He took it in his hand and tried to push on it. It didn’t work. Then he tried to cut the shell in half with a knife. He didn’t succeed either. The shell closed as tight as it could.
“If you push me hard, I’ll push harder. And I won’t open.” The clam thought to herself. After a few minutes, the diver gave up. He swam away, and the clam was relieved to have won.
But one morning, another diver appeared by the clam. He behaved differently. He swam slowly around the coral, admiring how beautiful it looked. When he saw the shell closed, he gently picked it up. He turned it from different sides, admiring its beautiful shape and colour. He was so careful and kind to it that it took the shell completely by surprise. After a while he put it back among the coral.
“What? He doesn’t want to cut me in half or break me?” She wondered to herself. The shell opened on its own as a reward. She showed him her pearl and allowed him to take it. The diver was happy to see what the shell had given him and swam away contentedly. The clam knew that in time the pearl would form again. But she was happy to give this diver her gem. He wasn’t rude to her and he behaved nicely. That’s why she was nice to him too. She knew it was the right thing to do. She wasn’t sorry at all that she didn’t have the pearl now. This diver deserved it. He never forgot that if he was nice to nature, the nature would pay him back.
