Once upon a time, there was a very generous king who ruled present day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The king was very generous. He never turned away anyone who came to him for help. But, he also had a bit of an ego. He believed that he was invincible and that he was a benefactor and his people’s prosperity was because of him and he believed himself to be a mini God
There were two beggars, who made their living by taking alms from the rich and the king. One beggar was old and the other young. Whenever, they would come to the palace the king would feed them well and give them a generous meal and give them some money.
The old beggar would take the alms and everytime say,” God provides!” . The young beggar on the other hand would say,” the generous king provides.”
The old man’s comment would irritate the king. One day he decided to teach the old beggar a lesson. He kept a pouch of gold coins on a road and decided to send only the young man there and when he would get the coins, the old man would realise that it is the king who provides.
The young man walked down the beautiful road and kep wondering why the king had forced him down the road. He was so preoccupied that he missed the pouch. The Old beggar happened to take the road next and found the coins .
The next day the king asked the young man,” Did something exciting happen yesterday?”. The young man replied that the road was beautiful. The old beggar replied saying something extraordinary had happened to him and that he had found a pouch of coins. He finished the sentence with his usual remark,” God provides.”
The king was very angry now and he decided he had to teach the old man that it was the king who was the provider and not god. So, the next day he filled a pumpkin with some silver coins and gave it to the young beggar.
The young beggar while walking back to his house kept wondering what he would do with this pumpkin. He didn't have any vessels to cook it , so he decided to sell it. The shopkeeper saw that the pumpkin was not fresh but he took pity on the beggar and got it for a small coin.
The old beggar happened to be passing by the shop later in the day and asked the shopkeeper if he could get something. The shopkeeper gave away the pumpkin he got from the young man.
When the old man reached his hut and cut the pumpkin, he was overjoyed to see so many coins.
The next day, the king eagerly awaited the beggars. He asked the young man,” Did something exciting happen yesterday.”
The young man replied, “ Oh yes! I sold the pumpkin you gave me for a copper coin.”
The old man looked at the king and said, “ I bought a pumpkin from a shop and it was filled with silver coins. God provides.”
The king understood that he might be the king and have control over some things, but destiny and many other things were not in his control. From that day on the king became more humble and he saw his kingdom prosper even more.
Moral of the story:
No matter how powerful we are, there are always things that will be beyond our control.
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