English Original
Long ago, a pearl farmer sought to cultivate the world's largest pearl. He went to the seashore to select sand grains, asking each if they wished to become a pearl. One after another refused, and the farmer despaired. Finally, one grain agreed.
The other grains laughed at it. To become a pearl, it would have to live inside a clam, far from family and friends. It would no longer see the sunshine, rain, dew, bright moon, or feel the pleasant breeze. Instead, it would face only darkness, dampness, cold, and loneliness. It seemed a foolish choice.
Years later, that single grain had transformed into a priceless pearl. The grains that had mocked it remained just a pile of sand, some even turned to soil.
If anything can turn stone into gold, it is hardship and pain. Endure and persist. When you finally emerge from the long, dark tunnel of suffering, you—once as ordinary as a grain of sand—will have grown into a pearl.
中文翻译
很久以前，一位养珠人想要培育出世界上最大的珍珠。他来到海边挑选沙粒，询问每一粒是否愿意变成珍珠。沙粒们纷纷拒绝，养珠人感到绝望。最终，有一粒沙同意了。
其他沙粒都嘲笑它。要成为珍珠，它必须住在蚌壳里，远离亲友。它将再也看不到阳光、雨露、明月，也感受不到和煦的微风。相反，它面对的只有黑暗、潮湿、寒冷和孤独。这看起来是个愚蠢的选择。
多年以后，那粒沙变成了一颗无价的珍珠。而那些曾经嘲笑它的沙粒，依然是一堆沙土，有的甚至已化为泥土。
如果说有什么东西能点石成金，那便是艰难与痛苦。忍受并坚持。当你最终穿越漫长而黑暗的苦难隧道时，曾经平凡如沙粒的你，也将磨砺成珠。