The King & The Old Woman: A Story on Patience.

Once there was a great King. One day he was traveling alone in a forest. Soon, he lost his way. He looked around from a hilltop but could not see any people or villages nearby. It was becoming dark and after some time, he saw a light shining from a long distance. He walked in that direction and soon reached a hut.

Outside the hut, he saw an old lady cleaning the place.

Seeing him, she welcomed him, thinking that he was a soldier from the army.

She gave the King some water, a place to sleep, and some hot food.  The King was so hungry that he quickly put his fingers in the food but the food burnt his fingers, and he spilled some rice on the floor.

The old lady saw this and said, “Oh, you seem too impatient and hasty just like your King! That is why you have burnt your fingers.”

The King was surprised, “Why do you think our King is impatient and hasty?”

The old lady smiled and began to explain, “My dear son, our King has this big dream of capturing all the large forts of his enemies. But he is ignoring all the smaller forts.”

The King interrupted the old lady, “Well what is the problem with that?”

“Well, my son. Like your impatience in eating, you burned your fingers and wasted food. In the same way, the King’s impatience to defeat his enemies quickly resulted in the loss of men in his army. Instead, if you eat the cooler food at the edge first and then move to the center, you would not have burnt your fingers and not wasted any food. Similarly, if the King targeted the small forts first , it would strengthen his position to then capture the bigger forts without losing as many men.”

Hearing this, the King understood his mistake and realized that one should have patience and avoid making any hasty mistakes in any situation.

 

Moral of the story

When we want to achieve something in life, we should first understand the process and then work on it.

Instead, if we are looking for quick results, we will become impatient, make mistakes, and never reach what we want in life.