The great padishah had three sons, and he wanted to choose one - the heir. It was very difficult because all three were very intelligent, very brave. And they were twins—all the same age—so it was impossible to decide. He consulted a great sage, who gave him an idea. The padishah returned home and asked all three sons to come. He gave everyone a bag of flower seeds and said that he needed to make a pilgrimage: “It will take several years - one, two, three, maybe more.” And this is a test for you. You will return these seeds to me when I return. And the one who best preserves them will become my heir.
And the padishah went on a pilgrimage.
The first son thought, “What should I do with the seeds?” He began to keep them in an iron safe - when his father returned, they would be the same as they were.
The second son thought: “If I keep them the way my brother does, they will die. And dead seeds are not seeds at all.” He went to the store, sold them and got money. And at the same time I thought: “When my father comes, I will go to the store and buy new seeds, I will give them to my father better than they were.”
And the third son went into the garden and poured out the seeds wherever there was free space.
Three years later, when the father returned, the first son opened his safe. The seeds died and stank. The father said: “What is this?” Did I give these seeds to you? They should be able to bloom into flowers and produce a wonderful aroma - and these seeds stink! These are not my seeds!
The son objected that these were the same seeds, but the father said: “You are a materialist.”
The second son rushed to the store, bought seeds, returned home and presented them to his father.
But the father said: “But they are not the same.” Your idea is better, but still this is not the quality that I would like to see in you. You are a psychologist.
He went to the third son with great hope and fear at the same time: “What has he done?”
And the third son took his father to the garden, where millions of flowers bloomed around. And the son said: “These are the seeds that you gave me.” As soon as they are ripe, I will collect them and return them to you.
The father said: “You are my heir.” This is what you should do with seeds!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru