The King's shoes

CEBU, Philippines - Long ago, people happily lived under the rule of a king. The people of the kingdom were very happy as they had a very prosperous life with abundance of wealth and no misfortunes.

One time, the king decided to go on a travel to visit places of historical importance and pilgrim centers at distant places. He decided to travel by foot to interact with his people and accompany them. People of distant places were so happy to have a conversation with their king and they were proud that their king was so kind with a good heart!

After several weeks of travel, the king returned to the palace. He was quite happy that he had visited many pilgrim centers and could see his people leading a propitious life. However, he had one regret.

He got intolerable pain in his feet from his travel, as it was his first trip by foot through a very long distance. He complained to his ministers that the roads were very rocky and weren’t comfortable to walk on. The pain in his feet grew as he walked all the way through the rough path.

He said he was very much worried about the people who frequently walked along those roads. He imagined it would be equally painful for them too!

The king thought of something. He ordered for the roads of the whole kingdom to be immediately covered with leather, so that people might feel comfortable walking on them. The king thought of this for the betterment and happiness of the people.

His ministers were stunned to hear his order as it would destroy the life of thousands of cows to get the sufficient quantity of leather and it would also cost a huge amount of money.

A wise man from among the ministers stepped forward and told the king  he had another idea. The king listened to the minister’s alternative idea.

“We would have to kill all the holy animals, the cows, to fully cover the roads with leather, Your Majesty,” the minister said. “Instead, we can just use a small piece of leather cut in appropriate shape to cover the feet. Then we would only have to sacrifice a few cows for the purpose.”

The minister’s suggestion came as a pleasant surprise to the king. He applauded the minister. He ordered for the minister’s idea to be implemented, and had the very first pair of leather shoes for himself.

The rest of the people in the kingdom followed. Each one got his pair of leather shoes. And leather shoes have been adopted by people in the generations that followed. www.kidsworldfun.com  (FREEMAN)