THE KING WITH DONKEY EARS

Once upon a time, there lived an evil king. His people were very frightened of him
because he was cruel. The king had an unusual habit. He always wore a big hat that almost
covered his forehead.

The king never took off the hat, whether he was at a party, having his bath or in bed
at night. Neither his queen nor his prime minister had ever seen him without his hat.
Nobody knew why he wore a hat all the time.

His people would wonder and talk about their king. “Maybe he’s bald,” said one. “I
think he has a horn on his head,” laughed another.

Only the barbers who went to the palace to cut the king’s hair knew what was under
his hat. However, these barbers never returned from the palace. Soon, there were only two
barbers left in the kingdom; an old man and his young grandson.

One day, the young barber, named Jack, was ordered by the king to go to the palace
to cut the king’s hair. As Jack nervously took off the king’s hat, he had the biggest surprise of
his life. The king’s ears were like those of a donkey!

Jack was shocked but he stopped himself from crying out in surprise. Instead, he
quickly and quietly finished his job. After the cut, the king asked, “Are my ears too long?”.
“No, Your Majesty,” replied the clever barber. “They look exactly like my ears.” It was the
first time the king had heard that and he was delighted.

The king decided to let Jack live. However, the king warned the young barber, “If you
tell anyone my secret, you will die!” Although many people asked Jack what he had seen,
Jack told no the king’s secret.

As time passed, Jack wanted so much to tell someone about the king’s ears that he
fell ill. His stomach started to grow bigger each day. He went to see a doctor who told him
that he could be cured if he told the secret. “I will be put to death for that,” said Jack.

The doctor then advised Jack to dig a hole and scream out his secret into the hole.
The young barber immediately went to the hillside, dug a large hole and screamed with his
mouth in the hole, “The king has the ears of a donkey! The king has the ears of a donkey!”
Soon, his stomach returned to the same size as before.

A few days later, when his stomach grew big again, the young barber went to a hole
in a tree trunk and screamed, “The king has the ears of a donkey! The king has the ears of a
donkey!”

The same thing happened while he was swimming in the lake one day so he
screamed out the secret underwater.

Months passed by and grass covered the first hole dug by Jack. One day, a passing
shepherd used a branch from the tree to make a clarinet. When he blew the clarinet, the
surprised shepherd heard a strange melody. “The king has the ears of a donkey! The king
has the ears of a donkey!”

The next day, hearing about the unusual music, the king asked the shepherd to play
for him. The shepherd blew on the clarinet and out came the melody, ‘The king has the ears
of a donkey!’ . The king was so angry that he ordered his men to throw the poor shepherd
into the dungeon. Jack too, was taken to the palace and sentenced to death. He begged for
his life, saying that he did not tell anyone the king’s secret. The king did not believe him and
ordered the sentence to be carried out that very moment.

Before it could be carried out, a melody was heard from the grass outside. ‘The king
has the ears of a donkey!’. As the wind blew past the tree, the leaves started singing same
song. ‘The king has the ears of a donkey! The king has the ears of a donkey!’.

Soon, the same song came from the river as well as the sea. ‘The king has the ears of
a donkey! The king has the ears of a donkey!’.

By now everyone in the kingdom knew the truth about the king. “Your Majesty,” said
Jack in a low voice, “there is nothing wrong with being different.” The king thought for a
while and realised he had been wrong all this time. He freed Jack and summoned all his
people to his palace.

Removing his hat, the king said in a loud voice, “My people, I know now that my ears
have been given to me for a reason, that is, to listen to all of you. Come to me if you have
problems and together we will make this country a better place.

After that, the song was never heard again. The king became a good and wise king
and his people loved him very much.

This story taught us a good lesson to be remembered throughout our lives. Be proud
of yourself and what you have because there’s nothing wrong with being different.