This is a retelling of an old legend. Ancient commentators on the story of Noah wrote of a glowing stone that lit the inside of the ark, and over the centuries many people came to believe that stone was a garnet. The family in our tale is imagined.
On a stormy winter night, the power went out all over the neighborhood. The house went dark, the furnace went quiet, and the wind howled around the corners.
Eight-year-old Noah, who did not love the dark, crept down the hall to his grandmother's room.
"Bubbe?" he whispered. "Are you awake?"
"I'm awake," she said, and struck a match. She lit a candle on her nightstand, and in its warm light Noah saw her take something from a little box: a ring with a deep red stone that seemed to catch the flame and hold it.
"Come sit," she said. "Do you know you're named after a man who lived through the biggest storm in the world?"
The Darkness of the Ark
"Long, long ago," Bubbe began, "the rain started to fall, and it didn't stop. It rained for forty days and forty nights, until the whole world was water. And Noah, with his family and all the animals two by two, floated on that endless sea in a great wooden ark.
"Now think about it. No windows to speak of. Storm clouds so thick you couldn't tell day from night. Inside the ark it was as dark as the deepest cave. How do you feed the lions and the lambs and your family when you can't see your own hand?"
Noah shivered and pressed closer.
The Stone That Glowed
"The old storytellers say Noah had a stone," Bubbe said, holding up her ring so the candlelight danced inside it. "A precious stone that shone with its own light. He hung it from the beams of the ark, and it glowed red and warm like an ember in a fire. By its light he could see. By its light his family could see each other's faces. By its light the animals stopped being afraid.
"Night after night, for all those long days, the little red lantern burned in the darkness, and it never went out."
"Was it a garnet?" Noah asked, looking at her ring.
"Many people believed so," said Bubbe. "That's why, for a very long time, travelers carried garnets with them on long journeys. They believed the stone would light their way and bring them home safe."
The Rainbow
"And then one morning," Bubbe said, "the rain stopped. Noah opened the door of the ark, and there was sunlight, and a rainbow across the sky, and dry land. He had made it through the storm. Every one of them had made it."
Just then, with a hum and a click, the lights in the house flickered back on.
Noah laughed. "Your garnet worked!"
Bubbe smiled, and slipped the ring onto his small finger, where it was much too big.
"This was my mother's," she said. "She carried it across an ocean when she came to this country. Someday, it will be yours. And whenever you're in a dark place, I want you to remember: there is always a little light to carry you through."
The Legend and the Truth
In ancient Jewish commentary on the story of the flood, the word used for the "window" or "light" Noah made in the ark was understood by some to mean a glowing precious stone that lit the ark from within. In later tradition, this stone was often said to be a garnet, a red gem known for catching and holding light.
For centuries afterward, travelers carried garnets as talismans for protection and safe return, and warriors wore them into battle. Today garnet is January's birthstone, a stone of love, loyalty and light in the dark days of winter.
đź’ˇ Read more legends and true stories of garnet in The Legends of Garnet.
🛍️ Carry a Little Light
Explore vintage and antique garnet jewelry at 322 Royal Street or online.
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