STORY SUMMARY: Three wards are sent by the Kingdom through shifting deserts to find a rumored people that have rainbow skin. As they get closer they see people in the desert turned to stone, and others nearly stone that simply repeat the same simple task over and over again. One member of their group is injured so they get to the rainbow people in need of medical attention. They learn that anyone who lives in the community will slowly turn to stone unless the community deems them of value and allows them to take place in a ritual. One member of the group does the ritual and joins the community, one refuses and turns to stone, and one goes back home to tell the tale.

DISCUSSION: Fascinating story about how a society places value on certain kinds of work. Is certain work more valuable then other work? Must you work and contribute to society to be of value? What if you just don’t want to work, are you a bad person? Is it okay to just enjoy life? Also, there are faith discussions in the story. The one person opted to turn to stone rather than join a group with another faith. Does this mean she isn’t of value because she is faithful to her truth?

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