But the Prince could no more be merry; he remembered his Star of Hope his mother had given him and hurried to find it.
Instead of the shining star he had left he found it dim and dull, and then he remembered his mother’s words, “Look into your own heart to find the cause.” His love of wealth and pleasure had driven out all thoughts of others, and he had cared not how he gained these things, so long as he had them.
“My selfishness has dimmed my Star of Hope,” said the Prince; “I must leave the City of Pleasure and the Palace of Merriment, for this is not happiness.”
He buckled on the cast-off armor and rode away. As he rode past the toilers he threw among them all the gold he had gained while in the City of Pleasure.
Far away from the city he rode, and found himself in the midst of sickness and suffering.
Dismounting, the Prince ministered to the sufferers’ needs and forgot all else until he fell asleep from exhaustion.
When he awoke his horse stood beside him, and in the moonlight the little star shone brightly from its place in his helmet on the ground at his side. Prince Lorenzo jumped to his feet and placed the helmet on his head. He had tasted the joy of good deeds. He no longer looked for pleasure in selfishness, and the bitterness of vengeance had gone from his heart.
Back to his mother he rode with the little star shining. “You have won, my son!” she cried as she met him. “All my love for you could not teach you how to gain real happiness; selfish pleasure and love of vengeance dull our Star of Hope, but only those who have learned the lesson for themselves can know this.”
Prince Lorenzo was surprised one morning to see coming up the mountain, where he and his mother lived, an army of brightly dressed soldiers. When they came nearer he saw they were the soldiers that once had served his father, the King.
“The King who wronged you is dead,” they told Prince Lorenzo, “and before he died he made us promise to find you and the Queen and bring you back to your kingdom, which he wrongfully took from you.”