Culture

The Inspirational Story

of the Circle of 99
4 minutes

Last update: 17 August, 2020

Once upon a time, there was

a faraway kingdom with a very sad
ruler. He didn’t understand the reason for
his melancholy until one of his wise men
helped him understand that it had
everything to do with the circle of 99. It
was a lesson he’d never forget.

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It all started one morning when the king,

deep in depression, saw one of this
servants enter the room. The humble
man smiled and happily hummed a tune.
The king realized that the servant was
always happy and wondered why. How
could a servant be so happy, while he,
the king, couldn’t find peace?

“True social progress is not

about increasing needs, but
in voluntarily reducing them. However,
that requires humility.”
DMahatma Gandhi-

The king asked the man, “Why are you

so happy?”. The servant didn’t know
how to answer. “Why shouldn’t I be
happy?” he finally answered. “I live in a
palace, serving the most powerful
person in the kingdom… What else
could I want? I don’t see why I shouldn’t
be happy with my life…”

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This upset the king. He didn’t believe a

word. How could a man with a house and
a life much more modest than his own be
so happy? The king threatened to
behead him if he didn’t reveal the secret
to his happiness. The servant
apologized for offending the king but
didn’t know what to say.

Wisdom and the circle of

99
Finally, the king told the servant to leave.
He could barely stand the servant’s
incessant smile. Even the threat of death
didn’t really upset him. After the humble
servant left, he immediately called the
palace’s wise men. The mystery had to
be solved.

When the wise men were all gathered, he

ordered them to tell him why the servant
was so happy with his miserable life,
while he couldn’t stop feeling so sad. One
of the wise men stood up and said, “It’s
simple. The servant is happy because he
hasn’t entered the circle of 99”. The king
was intrigued. What on earth was the
circle of 99?

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The wise man told him that it was useless

to explain the circle of 99 with words. He
needed to see it with his own eyes. All the
king needed was 99 coins of pure gold
and he would show him how any happy
man, after entering the circle of
99, would become depressed. The king
accepted the challenge.

Entering the circle of 99

The king ordered that 99 coins of solid
gold be made, the most valuable in the
kingdom. He put them in a bag and took
them to the servant’s house,
accompanied by the wise man. They left
the bag at the door with a note: “This is
your reward for being a loyal and selfless
servant. Enjoy”. Then they hid, to see
what would happen.

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The servant came home, saw the bag,

and was very surprised. He looked
around and then went inside the house,
intrigued. The king and the wise man
watched from outside, still hidden. The
humble man took the coins and poured
them out on the table.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. He started

to count his new fortune, putting the
coins into stacks of ten. When he got to
the last pile, he thought something was
wrong. The last pile had 9 coins, instead
of 10.

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The trap of the circle of

99
The servant thought a coin had fallen off
the table, and looked for it everywhere,
but couldn’t find it. He then thought
aloud, “Someone saw the bag and stole
a coin“. Then he wondered how long it
would take him to earn another coin. He
did some calculations.

The Characteristics of
Lasting Friendships

Working normally, it would take five

years. But what if he got more work?
Maybe he could earn a coin in just two
years. What about if he asked his wife to
take on more work as well? Then maybe
he could reach his goal in just one year…

From that day on, the servant became

very distrustful and suspicious. He
suspected that someone in the palace
took the gold coin that, according to the
servant, was missing from his fortune. He
also worried about getting robbed again.

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The servant never stopped making plans

to earn one more gold coin. He was
trapped in the circle of 99. From then on,
he never thought of the things he had,
only those he lacked. The wise man was
right all along.

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