The air is crisp and swept beneath the cottage doors by a cold winter’s wind. Brew your nighttime tea piping hot and settle in. It’s time for the crone to tell a tiny tale, so open your mind and heart and find what meaning you will. 

A woman despised as a fool lived within a seaside cliff. She loved her solitude, at least until a great wave splashed into her cave, leaving behind a bottle corked tight. No message was hidden inside.

The woman felt cheated out of a story. Everyone knew bottles from the sea held messages of great love or great need of rescue. Why didn’t hers?  

With arms crossed over her chest, she plunked herself down on the ledge of her cave and glared at the bottle. “Why does no one love or need me?” she demanded to know. Receiving no answer, she pulled her hair, ripped her dress, and streaked the beach.

At last she faced facts.

“I no longer believe,” she declared, “that bottles should have messages, for this one clearly does not.” This was only the beginning—she questioned everything she’d ever believed! Her eyes opened as wide as her noggin. What did she see?  

Pearls awash on the beach. She collected them in her empty bottle, now quite useful, and became a very wise woman indeed. To all those in need of rescue, she lovingly offered her pearls. Those with empty bottles received the most.

Heaven on earth is like this.