The King and Beggar
Once upon a time, a country was ruled by a king with no son
to succeed to the throne Since the king was getting old he wanted to select a
suitable successor to rule the country king the king sent notices throughout
his country. The notices invited every qualified young man in the country for
an interview with the king. The outcome of the interview would decide on a
possible successor to the throne. The only qualification for the candidate was
that they should have immense love for their fellow human beings. Every young
man across the country was very excited at the opportunity of being the ruler
of the country. A poor young man from a remote village also read the notice and
started to prepare for the interview with the king. The man was a kind man, a hard-working
man but he was very poor due to various circumstances. The man had no good
clothes to be presentable in the sight of the king. So the young man worked
really hard and saved some money to buy him proper clothes and supplies to
support him for a long journey to the palace. After he got his supplies and proper
attire for the interview, the young man set out on the quest. He traveled many
days and had almost completed the journey when he came upon a poor beggar by
the side of the road. The poor beggar sat trembling in the cold, covered only
in tattered rags. The beggar extended his arms and pleaded for help his weak
voice croaked, “I am hungry and cold, please help me, sir.” The young man was
so moved by the pathetic condition of the beggar that he immediately stripped off
his new attire and offered it to him. The beggar thanked the man a thousand times,
but since the man had given up his good clothes to the beggar, he was a bit
hesitant to go for the interview. He however gathered enough courage to enter
the palace in his old dirty clothes. Upon his arrival at the palace, a king’s attendant
showed him the way to the great hall. After a short rest to clean off the
journey’s grime, the young man was admitted to the throne room for the interview.
The young man bowed low as the king entered the room when he raised his eyes,
he gasped in astonishment as he noticed that the king looked very similar to
the beggar, he had met on the way. The king saw the shock in the man’s eyes and
said “yes, I was the beggar, you met on your way” “But why did you dress up like
a beggar? You are a king. Well why did you do this to me?” the young man
stammered after gaining some composure. “because I had to be sure that you had
a good heart and you genuinely love your fellow human being” said the king. “I knew
that if I came to you as a king, you would have done anything to impress me.
But that way I would never have known what is truly in your heart. The
generosity and love of the one in the need without expecting anything in return
is a sign of a great heart looking at your, love and generosity toward the beggar
man proved that you sincerely love your fellow human beings. This country needs
a leader who would work for the welfare of all the nation, not just ones who
would offer and cater to the throne. “you
have proven that you are the right person to be my successor,” promised the
king. You see in life Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition
of this, is the beginning of wisdom a heart filled with compassion and love to
our fellow human beings, is the greatest gift we can give to the world a king in
this land today, might be rich and glamorous might have the power and all the
might but this kingdom is worthless compared to a rich heart of a beggarman
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