Once upon a time, a monarch had twin sons. There was some confusion about which one was actually born first and, as such, which would be the rightful heir to the kingdom. As the two grew to young manhood, the king pondered long and hard as to what would be the fairest way to determine which one of his sons he would designate as the crown prince. All of the king’s advisors, who knew the youths well, thought them equal in intelligence, wit, personal charm, health, and physical strength. But, being a keenly observant king, he thought he detected a trait in one which was not shared by the other.
Calling both his sons to his council chamber one day, the king said, “My sons, the day will come when one of you must succeed me a ruler of the kingdom. The burdens of sovereignty are many and heavy to bear. To discover which of you is best able to carry them dutifully, judiciously, and cheerfully, I am sending you together to a far corner of our realm. My most trusted advisor you will meet there and he will then place equal burdens upon your shoulders. The one to which my crown will one day pass will be the first of you who returns home bearing his burden as a king rightfully should.”
In a spirit of friendly competition, the two brothers set out together. Soon they came upon an aged woman stooped and struggling under the weight a huge load of wood which she bore on her back. Her burden seemed far too heavy for her frail body. Seeing this, one of the sons suggested that they stop and give her aid. The other son protested: “We have an impending burden of our own to be concerned about and the consequences of the challenge of that burden far outweigh those of this old woman. Let us be on our way!”
The objecting son hurried on while the other stayed behind to give aid to the aged woman. Along the journey, from day to day, the son who had stayed lagged further and further behind his brother because he encountered others along the route who also needed help. Having pity on them all, he interrupted his sojourn to assist each; among them, a blind man took him miles out of his way, and a lame man slowed him to a cripple’s walk.
Eventually he did reach the place where his father’s advisor waited. Then, with the heavy burden that had been prepared for him weighing heavily upon his shoulders, he began his return journey back to the king’s castle. Days later, when he arrived at the palace, his brother met him at the gate and greeted him with dismay.
“I don’t understand how you could bear such a load,” he exclaimed to his returning sibling. “I could not withstand hefting it for more than a day. At that point I had to abandon it regardless of it costing me the crown. Upon my return, I told our father that I thought surely no man, save he, in this vast kingdom could shoulder such burdens. We are identical, both in frame and stature, yet you succeded. Pray, how on earth were you able to do so?”
The future king responded thoughtfully, “I suppose when I helped all of the others I encountered along the way to carry their burdens, doing so gave me the strength to carry my own.”
“It is easy to tell the toiler
How best he can carry his pack
But no one can rate a burden’s weight
Until it has been on his back”
– Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Have an AWE-full Weekend!
William J. “Bill” Bacqué