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| Sunday, 12 December 2004 |
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Sunday parable The sleepless King by Sunanda Mahendra It was a well-known fact that the good hearted King who ruled the once-upon-a-time Kingdom, was suffering from insomnia. But this sickness was understood by the common folk as sleeplessness. The courtiers were perplexed as to why the king was suffering from insomnia.
There were also a few who blamed the Queen consort for the King's sleeplessness. Those who blamed the Queen, said that she was not loving and was lecherous in her activities. Anyway the news about the King's condition spread all over the Kingdom. The chief advisor to the King said that in order to have a sound sleep, the King should find a better bed and discard the present Royal Bed in the Royal Chamber. "How am I to find a bed in which I can have a sound sleep?" asked the King from his nearest and dearest advisors. "Your majesty should disguise yourself and roam around the Kingdom until you find a person who sleeps well. That is to say a person having a sound sleep," said the adviser. So what did the King do? He disguised himself as a common person and went around the length and breadth of the Kingdom. During the course of this sojourn, the King found hitherto unearthed information about himself. "There is reason for the King to be in this condition," some people in the village teahouses said. But when the King asked as to why they said so, a worried man replied. "We are fear-struck commoners. How do we know whether you are a spy of this? King, who will in turn inform the King. You are a stranger to this place, so we are not ready to talk to strangers." The disguised King was quite worried and went further, looking for a person who sleeps well. He saw several families sleeping on the floor. Some of them had at least mats and carpets. Some others had rough beds made of wooden blocks and planks . "Is there a place where you can find a person who sleeps well in a bed?" the disguised King enquired. At this, some people just laughed and some others scoffed. But the energetic King wanted to find a person who slept well. On his way, he found a carpenter's workshop where he saw a man fast asleep. The King went to the workshop and waited till the man woke up. He waited for a long time. After a pretty good sleep the man got up and smiled at the disguised King and asked. "Who are you and what do you want?" Replied the disguised King, "Did you have a nice sleep?" "Yes I had a good sleep and I always have a sound sleep." "What makes you have a sound sleep?" "Don't you know that a man can have a sound sleep only when his mind is free from troubles and ill will?" "Are you a person of that nature?" "Yes I am." "Can I buy your bed?" "My bed? What do you mean?" "Please tell me the price. I am going to buy it." "I don't want any money. You can take it if you so please, but remember that this is a magic bed made out of the best wood in the jungle." The disguised King without revealing who he was, paid a handsome fee to the poor carpenter and removed the bed to the royal palace in secrecy. Now having brought the bed to the royal chamber, the King wanted to have a sound sleep. He did not even inform the Queen about what he had done. But she smelt that there was something that the King was doing in secrecy. The King was happy that he was lying on a poor man's rugged bed with four legs and just a plank of wood. But at night, when he was sleeping all alone, he heard some voices. He went on listening to the voices. The sound came from the bed on which the King was lying. He listened carefully. One of the legs of the bed spoke to the other three legs and said. "I want to go out, you better stand steady without disturbing the King. I will be back soon." One of the legs of the bed went off and came back after a few minutes. "Where did you go and what did you find in the royal palace?" asked the other legs. "Oh I am ashamed to tell you about the nasty condition of the royal kitchen. It is one of the most corrupted places on earth," the leg that went off said. "Why do you say so? Tell us more about it," said the other legs. "I saw how food is wasted and pilfered by the kitchen staff. They do it to earn more and more money. I saw some ministers taking bundles of food home from the royal kitchen." Then another leg of the also wanted to go out. He said, "You all better hold the bed firmly till I return as I too like to go out." That leg of the bed too got detached for a while and walked inside the royal palace. After a lapse of a few minutes it came back. "What did you find and where did you go?" asked the other legs of the bed. Then said the leg that went out. "Oh my god, I heard the conversation of some of the King's men. Some of them are surely thieves of the first order because they were seen carrying heaps of money from the royal mint, money meant to be distributed among the poor. I am ashamed of this nasty condition prevailing in a place that is called a Royal Palace. It looks as if the King is ignorant of all these matters." Listening to these remarks, the third leg also wanted to roam around the palace. "I too want to go out and see what is happening." The leg went out of the chamber where the King slept. He got delayed, but returned with another nasty observation, for he said in a soft sad tone. "Do you know what is happening in the bed room of the Queen right at this moment?" "No tell us if you have any information," the others insisted. "It is indeed a sad event, I saw the chief minister in conversation with the Queen. The Minister wanted the Queen to kill the King. But the Queen said she couldn't do that. Then the minister asked her why she couldn't do it, if she wanted to see the minister elevated to the position of King. When the Queen replied about her inability to kill the King, the minister slapped her face and made a blood scar on her cheeks. I am sure the King does not know about this clandestine relationship of the minister and the Queen and the impending disaster." With the crack of dawn the King got up in a changed mood and entered the Queen's bedroom. She was looking at her face through a mirror when the King came behind her. "What's wrong with your face?", he asked the Queen. "Oh I just scratched my face." "I haven't seen such a thing before. I know all about it". "What are you talking about?" "I am talking about your strange behaviour." Later on, the King summoned all his royal men, the courtiers, ministers, consultants and advisors into the courtroom and wanted to have a full inquiry into the royal misconduct. Whether that was successful or not I am not sure! |
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Some said that the King was too sensitive and others said that the
ministers had brought about chaos to the Kingdom and as a result the King
was disturbed and was sleepless.
