A long time ago, the world was all black and white. It was boring and dreary. There was no zing, no zap, no whoosh, no twang. No red or orange. No yellow or green. No blue or purple. No color. There was only black and only white. There were no green trees and no blue skies. No pretty rainbows to fill up the sky. The world was black. The world was white. And there were no colors in sight.
In this world of black and white, there was an eight-year-old boy named Brite. He was a very good little boy and loved to pretend, run around outside, and to dream. He loved to dream so much that he actually liked going to bed early so he could be a pirate or learn to fly.
One night after getting tucked into bed, he closed his eyes and started to dream. He dreamed he was looking down the side of mountain. He was so high that the trees looked like toothpicks and his head was in the clouds. He looked out from the big mountain and saw something magnificent. Something that made his mouth open very wide.
He looked out and saw the sun. But the sun was not white like it was in his world, it was yellow and orange, and from the sun he saw rings of color. These colors were brilliant colors that Brite had never seen ever before. He saw rings of red and orange and yellow that slowly faded into blue sky. He did not know what these were, but knew he wanted this light, this color, in his world.
“Incredible, isn’t it?” said a voice behind him. Then, an old wise man came up and sat next to Brite on the mountain.
“Yes, it’s so beautiful, so great! I want this in my world. What… what is it?
“It’s color.” He pointed to the sunset. “Look at this sunset. That has almost every color imaginable in it. Look around at this place and remember what things look like. It is important that you remember.”
“Why?” Brite asked.
“Because you will need to know this one day.” Said the wise man.
“Oh, no sir. I won’t. In my world, we do not have this color.” Brite said. “We only have black and white. My world is not like this at all. I wish it was. It’s so great here. I wish I could watch this sunset forever.”
“Nobody here is as thankful for this sunset as you are. They see it every night of every week of every year and they do not appreciate it’s beauty like you do.” Said the wise man.
The boy smiled and looked out to admire the sunset one last time. “Do you think I could bring this to my world?” He turned to look at the wise man, but the man was gone.
Where the wise man had once sat was an old leather pouch with a note attached to the side that read, “Sprinkle these seeds and spread the color.” Brite opened the small bag and looked inside. There were all sorts of colored seeds. Red pomegranate seeds, orange seeds, yellow mustard seeds, green pea seeds, blueberry seeds, and all the colors of the rainbow.
He held the bag tight, trying to remember what color everything was so he could color his world. He watched the sun sink below the horizon. All that was left in the sky was black and white. It was the only thing he had ever known in his world.
Brite woke up in the morning and thought about the strange dream he had. He lifted his hands to rub his eyes and realized he was holding the little bag from his dream. Brite opened the bag and saw all the colors of the seeds and they lit up his black and white room. He picked up the red seed and held it tight to his side. His shirt turned red, along with his little toy cars and stuffed animal bear. He picked up the blue and watched his walls and carpet turn blue. He picked up each color and his room transformed from black and white to a rainbow of colors.
Everywhere Brite stepped, color would explode from under his feet. The trees turned green and the sky turned blue. The birds turned rainbow and sang a happy song with their new colors. He ran all around the world to spread the vibrant colors the old wise man had given him.
He changed blacks to reds, oranges, and yellows. Whites changed to greens, blues, and purples. Everywhere he went, he spread the magic of the seeds. Now, because of Brite’s appreciation for the little things, the world is not just black and white. Now, there is color that is exciting and interesting. There is so much zing, and zap, and whoosh, and twang. There is red and orange. There is yellow and green. There is blue and purple. All color. There is no limit thanks to the magic of the seeds.