A certain artisan loved his king very much and, in order to be closer to him, hired himself as a stoker in the palace. In order to continually enjoy the sight of his beloved king, he made a hole in the wall that separated the room accessible to him from the inaccessible royal office, and through this hole he secretly admired his idol.
One day, the king’s son fell out of favor for some mistake in a conversation and was imprisoned in the same room where the stoker sat. Longing for his father, the prince begged permission from the stoker to give him the hole and relieved himself by looking at his father at least from afar. Then the stoker said to him:
- Woe to you! I, a simple and poor man, cannot be allowed to see the king and am forced to admire him from afar and through a small opening. You, an intelligent and educated person, capable of sitting on the royal council and constantly needed by the king, are now doomed to the same fate only because you failed to behave well and carefully weigh your words before the king. Listen to me: correct your behavior - and you will always sit next to the king!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru