THE STONECUTTER STORY
(excerpts from posts)
(If you want to retell any of the stories listed below, be sure to obtain permission from the copyright holder if the material is not in the public domain)

1) Does anyone have an on-line version of The Stonecutter. I just read Gerald McDermott's version and the ending is not very satisfying. Does anyone tell this story? How do you end the story?

2) I use The Stonecutter in my Respect program. I begin by saying that the stonecutter was unhappy about his lot in life. He always envied what others had. When he did get something, it was never enough. He always wanted more, more, more. He thought his job as a stonecutter was menial and of no consequence. Once he becomes a mountain, he finally realizes that as a stonecutter he had the power within from the very beginning to make himself happy. But now for him, it was too late. Fortunately for you, there is still time.

3) There's a standard tale type I know in a Japanese incarnation as The Unhappy Stone Cutter. He is unhappy that the sun beats down on him as he carries stones, and wishes to be the sun. So he becomes the sun,
but is dismayed that the clouds block his rays and protect the other stonecutters. He wishes and becomes the cloud. Now he's unhappy that the wind blows him all over the place, so he becomes the wind. Then he's
unhappy that he cannot blow through the mountain. He becomes the mountain, only to notice he is being chipped away by the stonecutters. He wishes once more and is content the rest of his life to be a stonecutter.

4) Man who said "IF..." Man's work was hard - quarry in mountains, breaking stones all day with pickaxe. Wasn't happy. "If I were rich, I could sleep in a bed with silken sheets." Angel appeared: "If you want to be rich, you can be rich!" Man was rich; big soft bed. Happy. But one day saw from bedroom window, king riding by in golden carriage, horsemen in front, horsemen behind. "If I were king - golden carriage, horsemen." Angel, "If you want to be a king, you can be a king." Was king - happy. Riding in golden carriage. Sun shone down - hot. King saw sun had more power than he did - unhappy. "If..." Angel. Was sun. Cloud came between sun and earth, couldn't shine through. Unhappy. Angel. Was cloud. Rain made everything green. Happy. Poured rain onto rock - made no impression. Unhappy. Angel - was rock. At last so powerful. Happy. Heard footsteps coming up road. Man with pickaxe - breaking stone off rock. Unhappy. "If I were man with pickaxe - would be stronger than anything." Angel - was man with pickaxe. (after Multatuli, "Max Havelaar". I found this in Once Upon a Time, Morgan & Rinvolucri, CUP)

5) I first heard it beautifully told by Heather Forest at least twenty years ago, and I am sure it influenced my telling some but I also have read every version I could find and over the years my version has settled in. I end it this way: after he is the sun , the cloud, the wind, oh, and I put things in that he does as each, like 'as the sun he was so high up in the sky that he could see so far - the rivers and treetops and towns, etc, and he could make children so hot they needed lemonade and swimming pools and he could make the flowers grow and the tomatoes ripen.,.." and as the wind 'he could shake the trees and blow kites high up into the sky, and he could snatch balloons from children's hands,.." Then, he blew himself right into the mountain.. Oooph! and - the mountain stopped him and he thought 'What? The mountain is more powerful that the wind? Then I want to be the mountain'..and the spirit of the mountain heard ..and his wish was granted..and he was the mountain! He stood tall and strong and majestic..oh he felt so good, so powerful..he thought I must surely be the most powerful thing in the world..Ha! Until ..until..OUCH something was hurting him way down at the bottom and when he stretched his neck and looked down, he saw a stonecutter, cutting stone from the side of the mountain.. "The stonecutter is more powerful than the mountain!?! Then I want to be the stonecutter!" And since the spirit of the mountain was feeling generous that day, the stonecutter's wish was granted and he was himself, the stonecutter, once again...which is what he really wanted to be all along.

6) This is one story I tell a little moral. I usually end it saying "and the stonecutter went back to his lifelong work of cutting stone from the mountain knowing, as each of you know, that the most powerful thing we can do in this life is to be ourselves, doing what we each do best."

7) I share this story quite a bit. Rockcutter is very good at what he does. One exceptionally hot day ... he shakes his fist at the sun ... complaining that this SUN is the most powerful thing there is ... he is a lowly rockcutter; wishes he could be the sun. Becomes a bully of a sun. Blocked by cloud ... something more powereful than the sun. Bemoans the fact that he has wasted his wish; he should have wished ... etc. Becomes cloud, etc. Wind. Mountain ... and finds himself gradually being 'eaten' away by little rockcutters. Does a V8 gesture. I wasted all my wishes! one last wish ... wakes rockcutter to his world as a rockcutter -- warmed by sun and washes by a gentle breeze and cool mist ... . And he sets back to work; he is, after all, a very good rockcutter. Ask Anyone. My version has more to do with wishing for something "more" than you already have, or are.

8) I told it this morning. I made the stonecutter a flintknapper in an Indian village. He did such fine work making arrowheads, spearpoints, and flint hoes that the mountain spirit granted him his wishes. At the end I did let the mountain change back into the flintknapper who realized his power was his talent. Then, I told my audience that that was the gift of the story - to find out what power you have through your own unique talents...whether it be flintknapper, storyteller, basketball player or chef. It worked well, and it was oh so much fun being the powerful chief, sun, cloud, wind, and mountain!

9) I rarely tell it in performance, but do tell it regularly in school to my teenage English as a Foreign Language classes (it is great for contrasting 1st and 2nd conditionals). My solution to creating a satisfactory ending is simply to ham the thing up as much as I can; the man's absurd expectations expressed with suitable voice and body language. On that basis, perhaps it is not so much the ending you use, rather the way it is handled. It works for my 14-year-olds.

10) I used this story recently with a children's liturgy (Bible class) group to explain the reading of the day. How God uses clouds symbolically - a difficult theme to explore - and it also coincided with Harvest Festival. (Ideas of Sun Wind Rain etc.) I used a hammer and chisel to bring in sounds effects "chipping and cutting and carving" I used pictures for all the key images(SUN, CLOUD , etc.) with GOD written on the back. After the SUN change, I prefaced the next changes with questions "Something moved across the face of the sun.. can you guess what it was?" And they guessed them all.. and we linked it all up at the end that behind everything was GOD, behind you, behind me, behind the Sun, behind the Cloud, behind the Rain All they loved it..and coloured in clouds at the end with a message " God loves me"

(This web page updated 10/4/03)