The Wisdom of the Ages: 100-word story

THE WISDOM OF THE AGES

The old man sat on the beach with his grandson.

'Once,' he said. 'my life seemed as vast as that ocean.'

The boy considered this.  'The ocean is very big, grandad.  But it's just lots of tiny drops, really.'

The old man smiled, but with sadness.  'Yes... and a tiny drop is all I have left, now.  It's no bigger than this.'

Without looking, he picked up a small stone and gave it to his grandson.

The boy studied it.

'But grandad... see how special it is.'

The old man looked now.

The boy was holding a perfect, shiny pearl.