Story of the King whose Coat was Coarse
A certain just king habitually wore a coat of coarse material. Some one said to him: “O happy king! Make for thyself a coat of Chinese brocade.”
“That which I wear,” the king replied, “affords both covering and comfort; anything beyond that is luxury. I collect not tribute that I may adorn my person and my throne. If, like a woman, I ornament my body, how, like a man, can I repulse the enemy? The royal treasuries are not for me alone—they are filled for the sake of the army, not for the purchase of ornaments and jewellery.”
Story of Darius[9] and the Herdsman
Darius, king of Persia, became separated from his retinue while hunting. A herdsman came running towards him, and the king, assuming the man to be an enemy, adjusted his bow. Thereupon the herdsman cried: “I am no enemy; seek not to kill me. I am he who tends the king’s horses, and in this meadow am thus engaged.”
Becoming again composed, the king smiled and said: “Heaven has befriended thee; otherwise would I have drawn the bowstring to my ear.”
“It showeth neither wise administration nor good judgment,” replied the herdsman, “when the king knows not an enemy from a friend. Those who are greatest should know those who are least. Many times hast thou seen me in thy presence, and asked of me concerning the horses and the grazing-fields. Now that I come again before thee thou takest me for an enemy. More skilled am I, O king, for I can distinguish one horse out of a hundred thousand. Tend thou thy people as I, with sense and judgment, tend my horses.”
Ruin brings sorrow to that kingdom where the wisdom of the shepherd exceeds that of the king.