Honesty, the Best Policy

A king in ancient times was famous for his wisdom and righteousness. He ruled justly, and looked after the needs of his subjects. However, he had one regret; he had no children and the ruler and ruled alike were worried about who would succeed him. After thinking long and hard, the king decided to find a person of good character to be his successor. He asked his subjects to assemble in the palace grounds, and let it be known that he would choose his successor from amongst the people present. People flocked to the palace on the appointed day. The king told them that he would hand out seeds to each person present. The seeds were to be planted and whoever brought back the best-grown plant with most colourful flowers would be chosen as the crown prince, since the person who could best take care of plants and make them prosper would surely make the kingdom prosper. The people took the seeds and returned home. Weeks later, on the appointed day, they turned up at the palace grounds, bringing their flowerpots with beautiful plants and bright, colourful flowers. However, one man just brought an earthen flowerpot with no plants in it. The others ridiculed him and made sarcastic comments, but he took no notice. The king made the rounds of his palace grounds and carefully inspected each of the plants and flowers. Returning to his throne, he addressed his people and congratulated them for the pains they had taken in growing such lovely plants. However he said, I would like to hear from the man who did not grow any plant. The others jeered as the man went up to the royal throne. He hesitantly explained that although he had tried his best, even adding extra fertilizer and carefully watering the seeds, the plant just did not grow. The king got up from his throne and announced to the people, I have found my successor, and here he stands. The people were dumbfounded as the king placed his hand upon the shoulder of the man and spoke to them: I was looking for a man with character and I have found him. I had all the seeds secretly boiled before distributing them. It was, therefore, not possible for any of them to germinate. Evidently, everyone bought other seeds for their flowerpots and grew the beautiful plants that we see here today. However, one man had the honesty and strength of character to admit failure despite his best efforts. He did not swerve from the path of righteousness and when the time came, he spoke the truth regardless of the consequences. In his care, I believe that my kingdom will be in safe hands. The people applauded their wise king, and the new crown prince who had won their hearts with his honesty. Try not to become a man of success but try rather to become a man of value ----- Albert Einstein