Once upon a time, in a small kingdom in India, there lived a good king. He was just and he ruled his people with a benign heart. He believed in being just . He laid good roads, he planted trees, he opened schools and hospitals. His subjects were happy in his reign. They loved and respected their king, He also had a very intelligent wife and two amazing children. He also took painstaking efforts to maintain peaceful relationships with the neighbouring kingdoms, so it was peaceful. Everything was going well for him and his kingdom
The king had one flaw though, he loved gifts and never said no to anything that was presented to him. One day, he decided to go on a tour of his country to see what the people were doing and inspect if things needed change or correction. Just as he was walking out of the gate, a man came running to him and presented him with a hen. He said, “ Dear king, I gambled in your name and got the hen as my winning, I want you to have it, because I gambled in your name.” The king was very pleased with this. He took the hen and gave it to his cooks to make something out of it and got busy in the kitchen. He forgot to even go on a tour of his country in all the excitement.
The next day once again the king and his retinue of ministers decided to go on a walk to inspect. Just as the king reached the gates of his palace, the man from the previous day stopped him . This time he gave him a large goat. He said he had once again gambled in the name of the king and had won the goat and he wanted the king to have it. The king was very happy and got busy with getting the palace cooks to make the tastiest of treats with mutton.
The next day as the king was about to go out, the man turned up once again. This time he didn't have any gifts for the king. On the contrary, he was being chased by goons. He claimed that the king owed the goons money. The king was perplexed.
“ What are you blabbering about?”, the king shouted at the man.
“ Your majesty, I once again gambled in your name. This time I lost everything. They are chasing me for the money I owe them.”
The king replied,” They are right in chasing you, you should pay your dues.”
The man responded,” When I gambled in your name and won the chicken and goat. I offered it to you as a gift and you accepted the gift. This time I gambled and lost in your name. So, the debts are also yours.”
The king was stunned. He realised that he had to be just, so he made the treasurer pay the goons.
The king also learnt a lesson, that when u take something from someone, you should know that you might have to give back
Moral of the story:
This is a beautiful story to talk about reciprocity and give and take in social situations. We must know that we can’t always keep taking and expect that we will not have to give back. We must be careful about what we take and from whom we take and think about reciprocity before taking something
Why Short Stories for kids?
Short stories are a great way to build empathy in kids
Short stories with morals are useful for kids to learn important social and interpersonal skills
Short Stories are a great tool to build conversations
If you are looking at other screen free tools to build conversations with kids our posters, maps and flashcards are very useful. Do check them out
