The King, the Horses, and the Donkeys-
Once upon a time, there was a mighty king who owned many powerful war horses. These horses had played an extraordinary role in the king’s countless victories, and because of them, his fame spread far and wide.
But alongside these horses, the king also kept a number of donkeys. The war horses required great care and expense, and seeing this, the king’s ministers often complained.
“Your Majesty,” they said, “these horses are disobedient, difficult to control, and of no real use these days. They only eat and waste your wealth. Look at the donkeys, how loyal they are! They bow, they lick your hands and feet, and they cost almost nothing to maintain. Why not get rid of the horses and keep only the donkeys? Better yet, buy more donkeys.”
The king himself noticed that whenever he visited the horses in the stable, they would stand proud and hardly bother to flatter him. But when he entered the donkey’s pen, the donkeys would rush to lick him, showing excessive devotion. Slowly, the king began to feel the ministers might be right.
At last, he was persuaded. The war horses were sold to a weaker neighboring king for a large sum of money, and with that wealth, the king bought more donkeys and pampered the old ones.
Not long after, the neighboring king, now armed with the mighty war horses, launched an attack. The kingdom, defended only by donkeys, fell with little resistance.
The conquered king was captured and brought before his enemy. The new king asked,
“Tell me, did it never occur to you why you lost this war so easily?”
The defeated king asked, “Why?”
The new king replied:
- “You forgot those who were the true reason behind your throne—the war horses who had carried you to victory.”
- “You valued the flattering donkeys more than the proud horses. You listened to the words of fools who pretended to be wise—your very ministers were the real donkeys.”
- “Above all, though donkeys have their use, they can never do the work of war horses. And you failed to understand this simple truth.”
✨ Moral of the Story:
True strength lies not in flattery but in loyalty and ability. A wise leader must never trade warriors for flatterers, nor forget those who helped him rise to power.
