Once there were several people hard-working and diligent who set out upon the task of turning lead into gold. Some worked by themselves on this most difficult task, while others joined together to share their expertese.
Although it may seem surprising, gold was desired both for its own intrinsic beauty and for the value others placed on it. And thus these many people with their varied skills and crafts created many beautiful and valuable things out of lead, imbuing this basest of metals with what they each realized true gold would require: beauty and value.
Some of them drew closer together finding satisfying company in the exchange not only of their combined skills but also in the apparent enjoyment that came from the joint quest. Their wisdom and courage brought together ever better ideas and implementations. These finely skilled craftspeople found beauty and value where few had looked before, and these they imbued in lead. But never did they stumble upon the elusive element they sought. They worked harder.
One day, a wandering knave stumbled into the surroundings of the favoured and yet startling conesouirs of all that is wonderful. He saw the lead forms stacked everywhere that they had created, discarded and archived. He exclaimed loudly, "Never in my life have I seen true gold before," and fell to his knees smiling with joy.
The friendly successful caretakers of alchemy looked up each from his or her own worktable to see the true gold they hard worked so carefully to discover, and saw only their old experiments, discarded and archived. Where could this knave have found true gold? They asked him to show them his discovery, whereupon he gathered the smallest and simplest of pieces of sculpted lead up into his arms, and extended it out to share with them.
"True beauty and value," he breathed gently back at them, afraid to disturb the moment with even a sigh. "True indeed."
They looked at one another in amazement, for sure enough, the knave spoke the truth. They saw their own creations though the eyes of the knave, and beauty and value shone brightly. Indeed, he held in his hands what they had sought all along, gleaming true gold, gleaned from around the world, from every artisan, by their own hands and minds. The beauty and value of true creation.
They smiled in fortune, satisfaction and caring for ever more, holding close their knowledge of beauty and value.