the nameless king ( a short story )
Beyond five seas and seven mountain ranges, there once lived a King.
And since he was a king, he had a generic kingdom and stereotypical riches and armies, all at his command.
The King seemed to have everything, except a name. Everyone in his kingdom had a name, but he didn't.
And although he seemed content, he was deeply upset that he was a Name-less King.
So one sunny day, he declared a contest, that he will reward 100 kilograms of gold from the royal treasury to anyone who comes up with a name befitting for himself. The reward was very huge enough to feed his kingdom for thirty years. And with such an enticing reward, many people from different places arrived at his court with countless names, but none were successful in impressing the King.
In the end, to find a worthy name, he decided to venture out himself.
He rode his horse out in a black robe to disguise himself. He trotted his horse through the palace and the Noble estates.
He tried to find his name in the soft smell of the flower gardens, the tumultuous sound of the clear water stream, the grunts of the golden deers that roamed in the estate. He deeply enjoyed the environment, but could not find an inspiration for his name. And soon he reached the exit gates of Inner District.
As he passed through the gate, his nose sensed a foul pungent smell. His eyes teared up due to smoke and soot. Wherever he laid upon his eyes, he saw broken huts, dismembered corpses lying in the street, and children skinnier than twigs, carry bricks on their head.
Accustomed to the lavish environment of the royal palace. the King could not handle the gut wrenching scene of this new environment. He got down from his horse, he fell on his weak knees and started vomiting. The smoke brought out more tears in his eyes, or perhaps the tears were from his heart.
He heard a faint voice, he looked up.
It was a child, with a pile of bricks rested on his head.
In a graceful manner, the child's feeble hands extended a bottled gourd.
The King kept staring at the child's dark eyes.
"Its okay, there is no shame in vomiting. Although its a bit funny", the child chuckled, "Now hurry up, drink some water or else your tummy will get upset."
The King accepted the bottled gourd, took a little sip and thanked the child. Even with a mountain of shame and guilt on his shoulders, the King managed get up on his horse and headed straight back to the palace.
Next day, he annulled the contest and decided to spent the all 100 kilograms of gold on public welfare. All the ministers and nobles in the court were against such a decision, but the King had made up his mind. When the news reached the public, the people were beyond joyful. That night, they feasted on bread, beer and meat. For the first time in years, people were happily singing and dancing in the townsquare. And that night the people made a plan.
To show their gratitude towards their king, they decided to built a statue. Stone Masons, Labours and Marble Artists from throughout the kingdom came together to build the statue. It took them three months to built a grand a 10 feet tall statue, mounted on a pedestal made out of marble.
And on the pedestal they inscribed,
"Here stands our benevolent the ruler : The Kind King"
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