"The Beggar and the Diamond" | |
---|---|
Short story by Stephen King | |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Short story |
Publication | |
Published in | Nightmares & Dreamscapes |
Publication type | Anthology |
Publisher | Viking Adult |
Media type | Press (Hardback) |
Publication date | 1993 |
The Beggar and the Diamond is a re-telling of a Hindu parable written by Stephen King which was published as part of his 1993 short story collection, Nightmares & Dreamscapes . [1]
It begins with an author's note explaining that the origin of the story and that in the original Hindu version of the story, God is Shiva and the archangel is his wife, Parvati. It tells the tale of an old beggar named Ramu who has had a miserable life. One day Ramu is walking along thinking about his unhappy existence and feeling angry at God. God, at the request of an archangel who felt pity for the beggar, drops a massive diamond on his path in plain sight. The diamond is worth so much that it would feed him and all his descendants for several generations. On the ground, Ramu has decided after some pondering that he should not be angry about his life or blame God because he still has a few things to be grateful for, such as retaining his sight at such an old age. To illustrate to himself how much worse life could be if he were blind, he decides to close his eyes as he walks. Ironically, he does not see the diamond because of this and merrily walks past it, missing it by just inches. God takes back the diamond and puts an ironwood branch further up the path. Back in heaven, God says, "The only difference is that Ramu shall find the branch. It shall serve him as a walking stick until the last of his days." The archangel asks God, "Have you just taught me a lesson, God?" God answers, "I don't know. Have I?"
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is a sermon written by the American theologian Jonathan Edwards, preached to his own congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts, to profound effect, and again on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut. The preaching of this sermon was the catalyst for the First Great Awakening. Like Edwards' other works, it combines vivid imagery of sinners' everlasting torment in the burning fires of Hell with observations of the world and citations of Biblical scripture. It is Edwards' most famous written work, and a fitting representation of his preaching style. It is widely studied by Christians and historians, providing a glimpse into the theology of the First Great Awakening of c. 1730–1755.
In the Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, the Quran and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Many Christian traditions – including Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism – revere Gabriel as a saint.
Raphael is an archangel first mentioned in the Book of Tobit and in 1 Enoch, both estimated to date from between the 3rd and 2nd century BCE. In later Jewish tradition, he became identified as one of the three heavenly visitors entertained by Abraham at the Oak of Mamre. He is not named in either the New Testament or the Quran, but later Christian tradition identified him with healing and as the angel who stirred waters in the Pool of Bethesda in John 5:2–4, and in Islam, where his name is Israfil, he is understood to be the unnamed angel of Quran 6:73, standing eternally with a trumpet to his lips, ready to announce the Day of Judgment. In Gnostic tradition, Raphael is represented on the Ophite Diagram.
"Crouch End" is a horror story by Stephen King, set in the real-life North London district of Crouch End, originally published in New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (1980), and republished in a slightly different version in King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes collection (1993). It contains distinct references to the horror fiction of H. P. Lovecraft.
Parīkṣit was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period. Along with his son and successor, Janamejaya, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic hymns into collections, and the development of the orthodox srauta ritual, transforming the Kuru realm into the dominant political and cultural center of northern Iron Age India. He also appears as a figure in later legends and traditions. According to the legendary accounts in Mahabharata and the Puranas, he succeeded his grand uncle Yudhishthira to the throne of Hastinapura.
Union Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas, Incorporada is a religious Association with more than a thousand affiliated local and foreign based centers (churches), and considered as the biggest association of Christian spiritists in the Philippines. Foreign based centers are located in California, Texas, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Greece, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hawaii, Germany, Italy, and Russia, where there are large Filipino communities. Union members are called "Christian Spiritists".
King of Beggars is a 1992 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Gordon Chan, starring Stephen Chow, Sharla Cheung, Ng Man-tat and Norman Chui. The story is loosely based on legends about the martial artist So Chan, who lived in the late Qing dynasty and was one of the Ten Tigers of Canton.
"God Sees the Truth, But Waits" is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy first published in 1872. The story, about a man sent to prison for a murder he did not commit, takes the form of a parable of forgiveness. English translations were also published under titles "The Confessed Crime", "Exiled to Siberia", and "The Long Exile". The concept of the story of a man wrongfully accused of murder and banished to Siberia also appears in one of Tolstoy's previous works, War and Peace, during a philosophical discussion between two characters who relate the story and argue how the protagonist of their story deals with injustice and fate. Along with his story The Prisoner of the Caucasus, Tolstoy personally considered this work to be his only great artistic achievement.
Symphony in Slang is a 1951 cartoon short directed by Tex Avery, written by Rich Hogan and released with the feature film No Questions Asked by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Minimalist and abstract in style, it tells the story of a man, who finds himself at the Pearly Gates explaining the story of his life to a bewildered Saint Peter and Noah Webster using slang of that era. The majority of the short is made up of sight gags based on Peter and Webster's imagined, literal understandings of such phrases as "I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth" and "Outside it was raining cats and dogs."
The Prayer of Solomon is a prayer by King Solomon described in 1 Kings 8:22-53 and 2 Chronicles 6:12-42. This prayer is said to have occurred at the dedication of the temple of Solomon, which also became known as the First Temple. The wording and thinking of the prayer have much in common with the language of Deuteronomy.
Star Over Bethlehem is an illustrated book of poetry and short stories on a religious theme by crime writer Agatha Christie. It was published under the name "Agatha Christie Mallowan". It was published in the UK by Collins on 1 November 1965 in an edition priced at thirteen shillings and sixpence (13/6) and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in an edition retailing at $4.95.
"Godfather Death" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812. It is a tale of Aarne-Thompson type 332.
Nakhakshathangal is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and starring Monisha, Vineeth and Saleema. Monisha, in her film debut, won the National Film Award for Best Actress. The film was a blockbuster, and is more noted for its songs. It was remade in Tamil as Pookkal Vidum Thudhu in 1987, with Monisha reprising her role.
The miracle of healing the man born blind is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels, in which Jesus restored the sight of a man at Siloam. Although not named in the gospel, church tradition has ascribed the name Celidonius to the man who was healed. The account is recorded in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of John.
The Black Riders and Other Lines is a book of poetry written by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). It was first published in 1895 by Copeland & Day.
"To a Butterfly" is a lyric poem written by William Wordsworth at Town End, Grasmere, in 1802. It was first published in the collection Poems, in Two Volumes in 1807.
"The Three Hermits" is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy written in 1885 and first published in 1886 in the weekly periodical Niva (нива). It appeared in the short-story collection Twenty-Three Tales which was first translated into English for an edition released by Funk & Wagnalls in 1907. The title refers to its three central characters; unnamed simple monks living on a remote island in a life of prayer and contemplation "for the salvation of their souls."
Rajee En Kanmani is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by K. J. Mahadevan and produced by S. S. Vasan. The film stars T. R. Ramachandran and Sriranjani Jr. A remake of Charlie Chaplin's City Lights (1931), it was remade in Telugu with the title Rajee Naa Pranam in the same year.
Brother Lustig KHM 81 is a lengthy German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen in 1812. It contains elements of Aarne–Thompson type 785: Who Ate the Lamb's Heart?; type 753A: The Unsuccessful Resuscitation; type 330B: The Devil in the Sack; and type 330: Entering Heaven by a Trick.
The Twenty-two vows or twenty-two pledges are the 22 Buddhist vows administered by B. R. Ambedkar, the revivalist of Buddhism in India, to his followers. On converting to Buddhism, Ambedkar made 22 vows, and asked his 400,000 supporters to do the same. After receiving lay ordination, Ambedkar gave dhamma diksha to his followers. This ceremony organised on 14 October 1956 in Nagpur included 22 vows administered to all new converts after Three Jewels and Five Precepts. On 16 October 1956, Ambedkar performed another mass religious conversion ceremony at Chandrapur.