An allegory goes: There was once a king who was so cruel and unjust that his subjects yearned for his death or dethronement. However, one aay he surprised them all by announcing that he had decided to turn over a new leaf. “No more cruelty, no more injustice,” he Rromised, and he was as good as his word. He became known as the ‘Gentle Monarch’. Months after his transformation one of his ministers plucked up enough courage to ask him what had brought about his change of heart, and the king answered: “As I was galloping through my forests I caught sight of a fox being chas~d by .a h~und. Tne fox escaped into his hole but not before the houna had bitten into its leg and lamed it for life. Later I rode into a village and saw t~e same hound there. It was barking at a man. Even as I watched, the man picked up a huge stone and flung it at the dog, breaking its leg. The man had not gone far wnen h~ was kicked by a horse. His knee was sflatt~red a~d he fell fo the groun~, disabled for life. The horse began to run but 1t fell 1n~o ~ hole and ~rake its l~g. R~flecting on all that had happened, I thought: Ey,11 begets evil. If I continue 1n my evil ways I will surely be overtaken by evil . So, I decided to change”. ‘ . The mini~ter went away convinced that the time was ripe to overthrow t~e king and seize the throne. Immersed in thought, he did not see the steps 1n front of him and fell, breaking his neck.
From my church bulletin
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