Finding a King

This is a continuation of the To Save a Prince story.

The king was determined to find someone to succeed him. He wanted someone unselfish who would be caring and just towards the people. He needed someone completely unlike his sons who cared only for themselves and power.

The king had been searching for months throughout his kingdom, and he had found no one who could be king. He wasn't sure whether to turn back and settle for someone less than perfect, or press on. He decided to press on.

He came to the mountains which were just outside the borders of his kingdom. They were so steep that no kingdom had claimed them, but he had heard about small communities living there.

The first village he came to was tucked away, easily missed. The people were very poor, and most of them were starving to death. He found no one there who could be king, but he also made a mental note to help these people at the first opportunity he found to do so.

The king rode for half a day, and was surprised to come return to civilization so quickly. Just on the horizon, he saw a beautiful, giant home at the top of a mountain. As he got closer, he could see hundreds of animals grazing. Amazing how he had spent a day in the poorest village he had ever seen only to now come across one of the richest pieces of land he had ever seen.

When he came to the chateau, he saw a man on his knees, gardening.

"Good sir, who lives here?"

"I do! My name is Simeon. My family owned this land for generations."

"And you tend to your own land? Where are your servants?"

"Well, I don't own the land anymore. I donated the land to the nearby village. They come work the land and take what they harvest."

"Why did you donate the land?"

"The village was struggling," Simeon said. "I have no need of excess. I am happy to take what I need to survive and giving gives me purpose."

"Are you not aware of the extreme poverty of the village just to the west?"

"What are talking about? There are no nearby villages to the west."

"It is surrounded by hills. Very few people visit, and the people are starving."

Simeon’s face became ashen. He began rambling about if only he had known, he would have helped them too. The king tried to console him, reminding of how he helped an entire other village, and he can’t help everyone, but nothing seemed to calm the man down.

The sun was setting, and the king was wondering if he'd have to return to the shelter. Thankfully, the men noticed the king's furrowed brow looking off to the sunset.

"Would you like to stay here for the night?"

The king accepted the invitation, and Simeon showed the king to a grand room. It was covered in elegant tapestries and fine furnishings. The king couldn't help but think that not even the rooms in his own castle were filled with so many fine things. Was every room in this huge home this stuffed with luxe items?

As the king dozed off that night, he couldn't help but feel hopeless that he would never find a king. He finally comes across Simeon who is kind enough to donate his land, yet he is so passive. He is content to sit back in his fabulous home and fails to venture out to help others in need. With time, sleep came to the king like a consoling friend.

The king was awoken not by the early morning song birds, but by men grunting and furniture scraping stone floors.

Confused and frantic, the king dressed and ran out to the front lawn where Simeon was supervising a large team of men removing items from the home and loading them into carts.

Before the king could get close enough to ask, Simeon saw him and called out to him. "Ah sir, I am glad to see you are awake! It's quite the busy morning. I'm afraid I will not be able to offer you a second night in my home as I know longer have one."

“Simon, what is the meaning of this?”

“Your highness, I am happy to let you know I solved the problem. I am selling all my belongings, and I am donating all the money to the village you spoke of. I can't live alone in such a large home when others are starving."

“Simeon, how will you live? You are giving everything to these people you have never even met.”

“I can work with my hands well enough. I will find a way. But I couldn't take anything for myself when that money could buy a family food for a week."

The king was sputtering in disbelief. "You- you have sacrificed everything but your life. But I am sure you would even give that if it would help someone."

The man shrugged his shoulders. "It is not right to see people suffering and do nothing,” he said.

The king smiled, happier than he had been in years. “Simeon, I have found a king.”

Author's Note:

This is a continuation of the To Save a Prince story. If you haven't read that story, it is about a king who must choose which son to save so that he can be king. In my story, he chooses neither because both are selfish. He sets out to find a king who would be a caring as he is. Now this story picks up on the king's search for a new king.

This story is based off of the Jataka of the great elephant who sacrifices his life so that a group of starving men can eat and drink from his corpse so that they will survive. As I was reading the story, I knew that this was exactly what the king from my story would look for in his successor. I wanted to take the exact spirit of the elephant but give it to someone the king could choose. I thought about having the potential successor give his life, and then at the end, the king would be mourning the loss of not only a great man but who could have been a great king. But I had several concerns: 1. Would a great king give his own life if that then meant he couldn't help anymore? And on top of whatever the problem was, now there is political upheaval on top of it? It would have to be the absolute perfect context for a monarch giving his life as the right solution. 2. Since this is my last project story, I wanted to end it on a happier note. I wanted the king to find someone so I would have closure (I'm selfish like that).

P.S. The writing from the first version of this story was pretty different. After taking time away from the writing and rereading long after, I realized it didn't just have problems, but I hated it. There was a vision to the first draft, but I think it was lost in some ridiculous details I was trying to make work instead of scrapping what didn't work. I think the version is much more powerful and expresses what I want it to.

Inayat. The Great Elephant, Twenty Jataka Tales (1939)