The Kingdom of Fools - Zubair & Sahithi

There once was a king, who was smart and cunning; he looked down upon anyone who he thought was dull. Along with his cunning ways, he was proud of the caliber of his subjects, he thrived in an environment of superior intelligence his whole life. Some distance away from the capital of his famed kingdom, there was an old teacher. He had taught the king and shaped the king to be everything that he was. The senile teacher was quite disappointed at the pride of the king, and he wished that his most prized student had learned the values he had taught so many others. As he sat under his famed banyan tree, he recalled a young boy, naïve, brave and curious with striking eyes and a witty face. As he reminisced about a boy who could’ve been, he was struck by an idea, it was possible for him to get his young and humble student back, all he had to do was teach the arrogant king a lesson. The next morning he summoned three of his brightest pupils, they were smart, humble and loyal. “Harish, Mahesh and Umesh, I have a favor to ask of you.” He said observing his bright-eyed pupils “I feel as if your king has become far too arrogant for my taste. I need you to follow my instructions, so I can teach him a lesson.” The trio listened eagerly to their teacher’s plan, with great determination, they set off to the capital. They entered the gates of the city and were immediately greeted by the sight of the hustle and bustle of the city. Mahesh, who had never been to the city before was astonished at the grandeur of the place and he soon wandered away. Umesh had decided to meet some old friends before heading off to complete his part of the task and too left. Harish, with no intention of exploring the place until he was done with his task, set forth m at the sheer size of the market and filled with people, it was a sight for sore eyes. Remembering his teacher’s words, he made a beeline towards a betel leaf seller, who was surrounded by piles of betel leaves. “How much for a bunch,” Harish asked “Fifty for Two hundred in a bunch” the shopkeeper replied flippantly while answering the queries of another customer. “Give me twenty-five for the moment, I shall send an assistant to collect the rest later” The seller agreed and Harish went on his way. He then stopped by a garment store, it was filled with beautiful drapes and expensive clothing, and the short man running it was bustling with energy and joy. He flitted around the store, excitedly showing off his “latest stock”. Harish admired the rows of shawls and picked a few off the shelves, then he walked up to the salesman “How much for these?” He asked. “One hundred and seventy-five for the four” the salesman replied, a warm smile gracing his face. “I would like to take them, but unfortunately, I don’t have enough money on me, would you be able to send an assistant to pick up the rest from a friend?” the salesman, ever trusting, readily agreed. Harish walked away with the shawls. The salesman quickly summoned his assistant and directed her towards the betel leaf seller. On arriving she said “I have come for the amount that my master needs,” the owner smiled and began to count a hundred and seventy-five betel leaves. The assistant was shell-shocked on receiving betel leaves instead of money. But following her boss’s orders, she took the betel leaves and brought them back. On seeing the betel leaves, the salesman was shocked! The man who had just purchased from him had fooled him! Walking up to the betel leaf seller, he began to scream and wave his hands around in anger. The normally cheerful salesman was irate and hurt. The whole market was shocked, a man that that most market-goers associated with kindness and enthusiasm, was presenting an angry and distraught version of himself. A marketgoer worked up the courage and walked towards the arguing duo, with a slight tremor in his voice, he said “Why don’t the two of you go to the king? He may be able to help you. But I would advise you two to calm down first.” The clothing salesman and the betel leaf seller decided to meet the king the next day. The next day, when the two went to court, another storm had begun to brew down in the marketplace, but this time Mahesh was the cause. As the two entered the court, the king welcomed them with a sullen face and a terrible attitude, he had not slept the whole night because of a thunderstorm, to say the least, he was not going to take the case that was presented to him lightly. The king grew livid on hearing the duo’s story and immediately summoned his guards to arrest the man who “managed to stir up his serene marketplace and create a storm” with the aid of the two men, the guards set out to arrest Harish. While the king passed judgments in court, Mahesh set out to perform his part of the task given to him. He strolled into the market and headed straight to the nook of the royal carpenter. The royal carpenter was as usual hidden in a corner, tinkering away with another invention. On seeing Mahesh in his extravagant clothing, the carpenter began to brush off the wood chips on his clothes and scrambled to Mahesh. “Greetings good sir, what would you like to see today?” Mahesh smiled a charming and deceiving smile “I’m just looking around, I’m from a nearby village and I’ve come to see some articles to gift to my wife.” The carpenter fondly smiled and began to cart Mahesh around the store, showing him his trinkets and décor pieces around the store. At a particular counter, there was a series of intricate padlocks. “I’ve created these locks for the king, he has been looking for new locks for the prisons.” “Oh, so you created these locks for the king?” Mahesh asked, putting on a curious face. “Yes, would you like a demonstration?” the carpenter asked, picking up the most intricate and the heaviest of them all. He began to wrap the chains around his legs and put the padlock on the chains locking his feet in place. He then, with the aid of Mahesh, he wrapped the rest around his wrists and locked. To prove his point, he struggled for a bit to demonstrate the strength and the complexity of the lock. After a while, the carpenter began to feel a little sting on his wrists and ankles. “Can you please unlock the padlocks for me?” he asked, “Oh really, doesn’t that beat the purpose of the demonstration?” Mahesh asked, faking incredulity. “But sir, I could not possibly stay like this, I have work to do!” Mahesh just shrugged and walked away, leaving the carpenter struggling. Later in the evening, the carpenter’s wife grew suspicious about her husband’s late night at his store. She rushed to the market to see her husband and get him home. On her arrival, she screamed; her husband was lying cold on the ground, all tied up. The nearby guards rushed to the scene, they were shocked. Untying the man quickly, they rushed him to the nearest healer to aid with the carpenter’s healing. The next morning, the king was livid, his royal carpenter was injured and declaring betrayal and abuse. To calm his mind, he decided to stroll through town secretly in the hopes of catching one of the tricksters in the act itself. As he strolled through town, many of his people greeted him with a bow, none smiling but none too rude to not acknowledge their king. The last few days had left him in a reflective mode, he began to remember his teacher, the man who had taught him all the tactics of being a king. “When in doubt about your subjects, become one of them.” That’s what his teacher always said, so that’s what he did, the king ditched his royal robes for simpler clothes. He entered the marketplace, observing his citizens flitting in and out of stores, calling out to friends and family, and bargaining with the vendors around them, utilizing every tactic in the book. The king smiled, it was always a sight that warmed him, the market was the epicenter of his capital and he couldn’t see it shaken up the way it was. It wasn’t a direct feeling, but as King, he knew it; the market goers were apprehensive and the vendors were even more nervous. They were afraid of someone duping them, and some were even fearing for their lives after the incidents of the previous day. Something very interesting caught his eye, there was a fruit vendor sitting on the street, with an array of fresh fruits spread in front of him, the vendor was staring at everyone that passed by him with an eye of suspicion; curious, the king stepped up to the vendor and asked “Why do you look so troubled my dear friend?” the vendor was startled and stuttered out a reply “No, no! I am not troubled, merely apprehensive, I’ve heard about all the incidents so far and I don’t want to be a victim.” The king felt dismayed at the fact, but he put out a confident persona “Do not fret; I am sure our king will be able to punish these fools!” He cried in an attempt to instill confidence. “How could I trust a man who has never cared about my problems? The issue bothered him only because of the fact that his royal carpenter was injured!” The heavily disguised Umesh said. The king was livid, “How dare you insult me!” He raged, forgetting the role he was supposed to play. With a shout, he summoned his guards and order the arrest of Umesh. As he was being dragged away, Umesh smiled. His plan had worked. In court, Umesh was being tried for treason for insulting the king. As the ministers gathered to give the verdict, Mahesh and Harish burst in through the doors. Strutting in casually in a bid to show their confidence. The king was confused at the sight of two men who had entered a private court session. The duo was dressed in simple robes that showed their status as disciples, but they had an aura of arrogance that angered the king. “Who do you think you are? Storming into the court like you have?” He cried. He was offended by the blatant disrespect that was being shown to him. “We are the disciples of your teacher,” Harish replied with a knowing smirk on your face. “And your subsequent actions could cause you to offend the honorable man.” Mahesh continued with a smug look. The king was confused by their answer at first, but the realization hit him soon enough. His teacher had sent two people to stir up chaos in this market and another to directly offend his capability, to teach him a lesson. A lesson in arrogance and kingship. Taking a few deep breaths, he slid off his throne and walked towards the chained Umesh. He took his sword from its holster and cut the chains of Umesh’s hands and feet “I apologize for any pain that I have caused you and my teacher. Would he be willing to see me?” The king asked hesitantly. “With great pleasure and honor” replied Umesh. At once, the king left to see his teacher. When he reached his former school, he was greeted by the familiar sight of his teacher sitting under his banyan tree. The image brought back great memories and important teachings. He smiled and strode towards the banyan tree and knelt by his teacher's side, awaiting a new a lesson.