Honesty: Why it's cool to always tell the truth!

A Story from the Nefl Valley: In the Light-Bell Valley and the Dragon's Tooth Mountains

It was winter in the Neflental. The sun tickled over the rugged peaks of the Dragon's Tooth Mountains. The highest tooth looked like a giant, grey knife caressing the clouds. Below it lay the Light Bell Valley, and everything glittered like golden fairy dust. The colours shone in white-gold, light blue and smoky grey. Snow lay everywhere, gleaming like amber in the sunrise.

A special promise

Rosa Immergrün trudged through the Sunlit Valley. It was cold, but beautiful. Today she wanted to visit the Stone Dwellers, who lived deep in the Dragon's Tooth Mountains. Even from afar, she could hear the hammering from the workshops and the chirping of the choughs circling over the grey rocks. The gnomes had weather-beaten faces and hauled baskets full of sparkling gemstones into secret tunnels. In the caves, light from mountain crystals glittered on the walls.

Rosa knocked on a stone door. She was a little excited. Her friend Silverbeard, a wise mountain stone, had asked for her help yesterday. He had found something very important, but didn't want to tell anyone what it was. Rosa knew that honesty was important.

The strange secret

Silberbart received them in his cave. Steam rose from a warm spring, making the air soft. Silberbart seemed nervous. He kept looking at the gleaming stone chest on the shelf.

„Rosa, yesterday I found the biggest crystal in the mountains,“ Silas whispered. „I've hidden it because I'm afraid of the ridicule of the others. That's because the crystal isn't perfect. It's full of small cracks.“

Rosa looked at the crystal. The light within it sparkled like a rainbow. The cracks made it unique. She asked carefully, „Why don’t you want to tell, Silverbeard?“

Silberbart lowered his head. „Everyone thinks I only find the most beautiful crystals. If they see the one with the cracks, they might laugh. That's why I even said I hadn't found anything at all.“

Courage to face the truth

Rosa paused to think. She felt it was better to be honest. „Silberbart, every crystal is special! Telling the truth is much better than keeping a secret. If you are honest, you will find that your other friends will still like you.“

Silberbart was still uncertain, but Rosa smiled at him. Together they marched to the Bergsteins' large workshop. The whole village was hammering and polishing there. Rosa and Silberbart stepped forward and showed the crystal with the many cracks.

Surprise at the friends'

„Look what Silverbeard has found today!“ said Rosa. The sun streamed through the doorway, making the light dance on the crystal. The other gnomes came closer.

One marvelled, „That is the most beautiful crystal I have ever seen!“ Another remarked, „The cracks look like little flashes of gold dust!“ Everyone was delighted. No one laughed. Everyone even admired Silverbeard. He was suddenly proud of his discovery.

In the evening, everyone sat around the campfire. They told stories, laughed, and watched the snow outside continue to glitter like gold dust.

What do we learn from this?

The evergreen rose helped Silverbeard to be brave and tell the truth. Honesty sometimes requires courage, but it makes friendships stronger. If you are always honest, you never have to be afraid. Even small mistakes make you unique.

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