Broken conch

Legend has it that if you hold a conch to your ear, you can hear the sound of waves from ancient times. After my daughter learned about this legend, she became very interested in conch. Every time she goes to the beach, she looks for conches on the beach.

Several times, I wanted to explain to her the principle of that sound. In fact, anything that can create a closed space, such as a cup or a carton, will make a similar sound as long as it is placed next to the ear. However, seeing the children immersed in that beautiful legend, I really couldn't bear to break it.

The world will never be perfect, but the beautiful legend makes the world a better place. With that legend, the child can hear the ancient sound of waves; if the legend is broken, all she hears is a hum.

When we are lucky, we can pick up several complete conches while walking on the beach. My daughter will be very happy to listen to the sound of the waves. But you are not always so lucky. Conches have to go through many winds and waves to reach the seaside, and many of them are damaged. The daughter wants a complete conch. If there is any defect, she will feel sorry and continue to look for it.

The day before yesterday, we walked back and forth on the beach twice, but we didn't find a decent conch. My daughter was a little depressed and felt that she had gained nothing from this trip to the beach.

Walking along the beach to the end is a pile of pebbles. Among the stones, I caught a glimpse of a conch as big as half a hand. It was dark blue and very beautiful. My daughter came forward excitedly, picked it up and looked at it, but found that the conch was defective. Probably because it was hit by a rock, the top tip of the conch was missing, leaving a small hole.

The daughter sighed repeatedly and said that it was not easy to find the conch, but it was not complete yet. I reminded her that there are not so many perfect things in this world. The incomplete conch also has its own beauty. It all depends on how we look at it. Those incomplete pieces bear witness to the hardships that have been experienced, and there are more stories to tell than the complete conch.

I rinsed the conch, put it to my ear, and heard a whirring sound. That gap did not affect the ancient sound of waves transmitted by the conch at all. My daughter also took it and listened, with a smile on her face. After listening, she said she should keep this unusual conch...