Ruined Handkerchief

The story is told of a woman who once showed the famous art critic John Ruskin a costly handkerchief on which a blot of ink had been dropped. The handkerchief was ruined, complained the woman, and nothing was left to do except throw it away. Ruskin said nothing, but took the handkerchief with him. Not long afterward, the woman received it back, but it was so changed she could hardly believe it was the original. Using the blot as a basis, Ruskin had created around it a beautiful and artistic design, changing what was ruined into a thing of beauty and joy.