The King's Wish
Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom there lived a girl named Sara who loved the King. This was not surprising because most people who called themselves citizens of this kingdom loved the King. The King was a good and kind man who ruled his kingdom fairly and wisely.
And Sara had grown up and learnt to love the King the way her parents loved the King. Every morning when she rose she read the King's law book, every evening before she went to bed she said the King's prayer, and every day she would raise her eyes to the lintel where, engraved like all other households of their country, were the words, “Trust and obey.”
Now Sara lived with her family in a small house at the foot of the mountains. Her father was a watchmaker and her mother was a poet. Her brothers and sisters had all left home and found themselves occupations in the nearest town. Often they would visit and ask Sara the same question, “What will you do with your life?” And Sara would reply, “Whatever the King wishes.”
The problem was Sara didn't know what the King wished. She loved the King and she desired to please him. Perhaps, she thought, he will send me a message and reveal it to me. Surely he knows of my eagerness to serve. But he never did.
The day that Sara turned twenty-one, her mother found her in her favourite place by the gate, keeping her eyes fixed on the road.
“Sara, my child,” she said, “It is time you decided what you will do with your life.”
“Whatever the King wishes,” said Sara. “I wish only to serve him.”
“You can serve the King in many ways,” said her mother. “Your father serves him as watchmaker. I serve him as poet. You must choose how you will serve him and that service will be enough.”
“I would know what the King wishes. Then I would grant him his wish,” said Sara stubbornly. Her mother sighed.
“Then you should seek his audience.”
The following day Sara kissed her mother and father goodbye and set off down the road she had watched so often, following the signs that pointed towards the capital.
She had been walking for many days when at last she met an old woman who sat spinning by the side of the road. “Good day, young lady! Where do you go?”
“To see the King that I may know his wish,” replied Sara.
“Why, you need not go so far! There is a man who lives over that hill who can tell you the King's wish for a silver coin. He told me that it was the King's wish I spin here by the road.”
“How does this man know what the King wishes? Has he spoken to him?” asked Sara.
“I do not know, my child,” said the woman.
Sara continued on over the hill and soon found the house of the man of whom the old lady spoke. He was standing on his roof, staring up at the sky.
“Good day to you, sir,” she called. “I have heard that you know the King's wish.”
“That is correct, Miss. I can tell you all for a silver coin,” he said.
“How do you know what it is the King wishes?”
“I hear his voice in my head. He tells me what to do. This morning he told me to climb up onto my roof and stare at the sky.”
“Why would the King want you to do that?” asked Sara.
The man shrugged. “It is the King's wish. Give me a silver coin and I will tell you what he wishes for you.”
Sara threw him his fee. He stood for a while staring up at the sky. For a moment she feared he had forgotten. Then he spoke. “The King's wish is that you marry me,” he said.
“Strange,” said Sara. “I wonder why he has not told me.” And she continued on her way.
As her journey unfolded, Sara continued to meet many people who claimed to know the King's wish. One lady told her if her handkerchief was covered with dew in the morning, she knew the King's answer was “Yes”. One young man claimed that the King had spoken to him through his horse who had warned him not to enter a mountain pass the day before an avalanche. Each time Sara pondered what their words. Each time she resumed her path.
At last the sun dawned on the day she arrived at the capital. A carriage was waiting for her at the gate. “You are expected,” she was told. “The King will see you immediately.” And she was taken through the city streets, through the palace corridors, right into the very throne room itself, face to face with her King.
“My dearest Sara, what is your wish?” he said, smiling.
She curtsied. “My King, I have waited these many years to know your wish. I have travelled far and long to discover it. And now I have come here—here to serve you. Tell me what you wish me to do and I will grant it to you.”
The King laughed. “You know my wish, like all my people. You read my book every morning; you say my prayer every night. You have, in times gone by, already granted my wish. And I hope, in times to come, you will continue to, no matter what you choose to do. Go home, my child. I have written it above your door.”
So Sara returned home to her mother and father. As she crossed the threshold, her eyes lifted to the lintel as they had done so many times before. And there, like all other households of their country, were the words, “Trust and obey.”
Karen Beilharz [karen@ecuwollongong.org]
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