The Man Who Wanted To Live Well (A fable)

by John Dadlez

There was a man who worked very hard to become wealthy. He had a gift for making money, always saved it, never spent much and reinvested, and said that he would retire when he had made enough money to live well.

When he was twenty years old he hoped to amass a fortune of $1,000,000. At thirty he realized it would require much more to make him happy and live well in his retirement, so he decided that $10,000,000 would do it. At forty the man realized that $10,000,000 didn’t go as far as it once did and $100,000,000 was a much more satisfactory sum to live well.

And so, as the years past, the amount of money got larger and larger, and he never retired. Then suddenly, one day he died. His funeral was grand and the mausoleum he was laid to rest in became the house that he always said he would retire to. And that’s how he became the richest man in the graveyard.

Moral: To have lived well requires living well.

Copyright 2010 John Dadlez. All rights reserved.

The Kingdom Of Perfect (A fable)

by John Dadlez

In a country not too long ago lived a king. This king was vain and arrogant, and thought, as most powerful people do, that his way of thinking was the only right and proper way of thinking. And so one day, he decided that the people in his dominion should be perfect.

He called all of his advisers and ministers together to discuss his plan, and to his delight, all his advisers and ministers, as most advisers and ministers of powerful, vain and arrogant kings do, agreed. All except one. Before the king and his royal court the jester rolled on the floor in fits of laughter.

“Fool!”, roared the furious king. “How dare you laugh at me! You with the crooked back and twisted nose! You shall be the first to suffer for your imperfections.”

With that, the jester was dragged off to the dungeon.

The king put his plan into action passing laws and decrees that would create a perfect human race in his kingdom. He outlawed the sick and feeble, banished the ugly and blemished, and created schools that taught only what the vain and arrogant king knew was right and proper thinking. Finally, he created strict rules on what would be the accepted standard for beauty and perfection.

Many embraced the new laws, for who wouldn’t want to be perfect? Those who wouldn’t comply were forced until, finally, the king felt that he had reached his goal of a perfect kingdom. The people all followed his standards of beauty, there were no sick and feeble to be found, and everyone thought the same way.

But, try as he might, he could not ignore the feeling of sadness and unrest in his kingdom. People were unhappy, vain, petty, scared, selfish and unfeeling.

Then one day he noticed that his son, while playing, moved at a slower pace. Later, he kissed his wife the queen on her cheek, and her skin which once felt soft and supple was now cold and hard. A strange thing was happening throughout his kingdom. The beautiful, perfect, people began to stiffen. They all became cold and hard to the touch, cold and hard of heart. Slowly but surely, the people of the king’s perfect kingdom were turning into statues; beautiful in image, but cold and emotionless shadows of what they once were.

The king was at a loss and couldn’t understand why! He couldn’t get an answer from his advisers and ministers because they all thought like he did. If he didn’t know, how could they? Then he remembered that there was still one person left in his kingdom that he could ask. He raced to his dungeon!

There he found hanging by his thumbs in a damp and dirty cell, his old court jester. He cut him down, and after telling him everything he had done, demanded his opinion.

The jester smiled and replied, “Your majesty is a greater fool than I. You tried to create perfection of the body and not the soul. Your majesty’s idea of perfection is only an illusion, a pale image of the beauty that is humanity. Statues are only images of perfection. In reality, they are cold and unfeeling. Our imperfections are what make us human. By trying to create a perfect human race you have destroyed the humane race.”

Copyright 2010 John Dadlez. All rights reserved.

The Prince and the Fool

By John Dadlez

Once there was a young prince who was jealous of his older brother because he was first in line to become king. So the young prince began to spread lies and gossip about his brother so that he would be disgraced and have to forfeit his right to the throne. But what the young prince hadn’t counted on was the effect his slanders would have on his kingdom for the people loved his older brother very much, and his father, who was deeply hurt and distraught by what he heard even though it wasn’t true. His father became very ill and was close to death as a result of the young prince’s jealous ambitions.

The young prince became afraid and went to his father and brother to confess his sin and beg for mercy. When he told them they were sorely disappointed but nevertheless forgave him anyway. But, try as he might to correct his folly, the rumors and lies concerning his brother just grew and grew.

Frustrated and sad he went to the court jester, the wisest man in the kingdom, for his guidance and help. Upon listening to his tale the jester told him to gather up the down pillows from the seat of his father’s throne and to follow him. He did as he was instructed and followed the fool through the castle and to its tallest tower. Once they climbed the steps and looked out over the length and breadth of the kingdom, the jester took the pillows, ripped them open and scattered the feathery contents upon the wind. They both watched as the down floated and drifted out over the planes like snow and eventually vanished from site.

“Now”, said the jester to the prince, “go gather it up and re-stuff these pillows.”

“What you ask is impossible,” said the prince. “I could work for months and years and still not gather back every one.”

“Such is the nature of gossip and lies,” said the fool. “Once uttered, they are impossible to take back.”