Once upon a time, there lived a great king known for being brave and strong. One day he was wandering around the woods by himself. It was unprecedented for someone of such stature to do so. However, the King had his reasons. Instead of relying on his advisers, who would embellish or even fabricate information to please him, he secretly travelled among his people to gather information directly from them. This way, he gained unfiltered insights into what was going on in his kingdom and what people thought.
But this time, he found that he had lost his way. It was getting dark, and he hadn’t planned to spend the night in the forest since it was riskier at night. So he went to the top of a hill, he looked around but couldn’t see any people or villages. Then, he could see the light from a great distance after some time. The King thought the light must be coming from a human settlement, so he walked in the direction of the light and soon came to a hut.
As he approached the shack, he noticed an older woman cleaning up outside the hut.
The old lady did not recognize the King but thought he was a soldier and welcomed him with warm hospitality. She provided her guest with clean water for cleaning and prepared a comfortable mattress for relaxing.
After a while, she served a steaming hot rice and curry dish in front of him.
The King was famished as he hadn’t eaten all day, so he hastily put his fingers on the hot food. However, the hot food burnt his hand, and he dropped some rice on the floor.
“Oh, you seem very impatient and hasty like your king,” the old lady observed. That’s why you burned your fingers and lost some food.”
The King was taken aback by the lady’s words and asked, “Why do you believe our king is impatient and hasty?”
The old lady grinned and replied, “My darling son, our King has a big dream of taking all his enemy forts.
By doing so, he concentrates on taking the larger, more prominent forts while disregarding the smaller ones.
The King was confused and interrupted the lady, “But, Is’ntIs’nt That’sThat’s a nice thing, I don’t see the problem with it.”
With a smile, she replied, “The impatience that caused you to burn your fingertips also caused you to squander a portion of the meal. Similarly, the King’s haste to crush his foes led to the deaths of many of his soldiers.”
Instead, If you eat less hot food on the outer edge and then steadily move to the hotter middle, you can avoid burning your fingers and wasting food.
Similarly, the King has to first focus on the smaller forts to consolidate his power. When the King takes over the small villages, forts, and other settlements, providing supplies and information to the stronger fortresses, the enemy’s morale gradually deteriorates, making it simpler to capture them. This will help him take over the larger forts without suffering heavy casualties among his force.
After hearing this, the King realized his mistake and learned the importance of patience and not acting hastily. So he thanked the woman for her wisdom and left the next morning. After that day, he always made plans to grow his kingdom steadily rather than prematurely acting on impulses.
Moral: If we want to succeed in life, we need to learn how to get there and then put in the time and effort necessary to make it happen. When we want quick results, we will become impatient, make mistakes and may never reach what we want in life. If we want to get what we want out of life, we need to be patient and work for our goals over time.
