Theme: Honesty
The seed
of truth
Once upon a time there was a boy who was very fond of
plants. He was very dedicated and had learned from his
grandfather how to take good care of them. They used to
work together in the garden, which was big, beautiful
and with plants of all kinds.
They lived in a kingdom ruled by a
fair and good king, who had no children or other heirs
and was concerned with finding a good person to be his
successor.
One day the king called all the
children of the kingdom who were old enough to carry out
the task they would be given. The boy gardener was one
of the children who attended the palace on the appointed
date.
The king, receiving them,
thoughtfully, explained:
– I need to choose an heir to the
throne. I have decided that my successor will be the one
of you who best accomplishes the task I am going to
propose to you.
Each of the boys then, excited,
received a seed that was to be cultivated for a year.
After this period, the children were to return to the
palace and present to the king the result of their care
and the lessons learned during the execution of the
task.
The boy's little heart was filled
with hope, as he knew that he was an excellent gardener
and that he had a good chance of doing well.
When he got home, he prepared a vase
with good soil, planted the seed, put fertilizer, didn't
forget water or sun and started to take care of it every
day. But despite his dedication, time passed and the
seed did not sprout.
The boy did everything he could for a
whole year. He didn't give up on taking care of the seed
all the time, but he didn't get the result he wanted.
On the day of presenting himself to
the king, the boy felt ashamed and did not want to go.
But his grandfather encouraged him by saying:
– My grandson, you have dedicated
yourself a lot. Tell the king the truth. Take the vase
with the seed that didn't sprout and tell everything
you've done for it. You shouldn't feel ashamed if you've
done your best.
The grandfather accompanied his
grandson to the palace, where there were already many
children with their vases. All of them with beautiful
plants with lush foliage and flowers of rare beauty.
A huge line formed to talk to the
king. The boy, saddened, placed himself at the end of
the line.
The king was calling the children and
talking to them. He didn't smile or look satisfied. The
boy thought: “Imagine when he sees my vase then”.
When his turn came, the boy was
nervous. With difficulty he said:
– Sir, I am a good gardener and I
have dedicated myself a lot. I did everything I could
and persevered until the last day. Despite this, as you
can see, my seed has not sprouted. I have nothing to
give you but the truth of what happened. I am ashamed
and I ask for your forgiveness.
The king smiled, went to the boy and
hugged him saying:
– Do not be ashamed or ask for
forgiveness, my child. What you cultivated was the seed
of truth. And it was only her that I saw sprout here
today. All the seeds that were distributed were first
burned. They couldn't have turned into the beautiful
flowers the other children brought. Sometimes the truth
is not as beautiful as a flower, but we need to face it
boldly, as you did. You will be my successor!
The boy started to frequent the
palace and when he became king he ruled with great
wisdom. He and the entire kingdom never forgot that
lesson in honesty and courage they received with the
seed of truth.
(Adaptation of text by Patrícia Engel Secco.)
Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com
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