“Now I’ve brought presents for all of you girls,” the ballet instructor announced to the jittery young dancers at the beginning of class. “It’s a decorative, small pouch that you can use to place your jewelry in while you dance.” The girls seemed pleased with the small token and flocked to the laid out selection, eager to choose a color. There was pink, purple, white, gold, and brown.
The girls, though young, were as elegant as swans in their dance apparel, tall, thin, and with skin as smooth and light as cream. One girl reached the pouches last, and found that the pretty colors had already been selected. She hesitantly reached for the final one that remained, brown. There weren’t many times when she experienced this uncomfortable feeling, her skin conspicuously different from the others. But when she did, she wished she could hide for a moment until she felt the stares stop.
Her head down and shoulders slumped she studied the brown pouch. “Oh my goodness!” the instructor suddenly gasped as if she’d just spotted a diamond among gravel. She abruptly walked over to the girl and picked up the pouch. She held it right next to the girl’s dark arm, comparing the two and exclaimed, “What a perfect match. Hazel nut is my favorite color!” The girl responded with a bashful smile at the unexpected compliment and accepted the pouch. She took off her necklace and placed it into the ornate, hazel nut purse, then made her way to the bar to take her place with the other dancers.
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