The Wisdom of the Elders

One cruel king issued an order to exterminate all the old people.

"What use are they?" he said. "They can neither plow nor reap, nor chop wood. They just eat bread for nothing and get in the way at home. Life will be better without them."

The king's executioners set to work. All the old people were killed. Only one old man remained—the father of a nobleman. The nobleman felt sorry for his old father, so he hid him in a secret place and began secretly bringing him food.

The cruel king had a spirited black horse. It kicked, bit, reared up, and threw off its riders. No one could tame it. The king learned that a wise healer lived in the capital. He ordered her to be brought to the palace and began questioning her about how to tame the unruly horse.

"Command, Your Majesty, your nobles to weave a rope out of sand and use this rope to hobble the horse. It will become as gentle as a lamb," she said.

The king scratched the back of his head and summoned his nobles.

"Hey, nobles," he shouted, "listen to my order: by tomorrow morning, I want a rope made of sand! If you come to the palace without the rope, I will have your heads cut off!"

The nobles left, hanging their heads. None of them could think of how to weave a rope out of sand. Among them was the nobleman who had saved his father's life. He returned home, thoughtful and sad, and his father asked him:

"Why are you so gloomy, son?" The nobleman told him about the king's order.

"Your trouble is easy to fix," said the old man. "Tomorrow morning, when you go to the palace and the king asks, 'Where is the rope?' you should answer him like this: 'Your Majesty, we are ready to weave a rope out of sand, but we do not know what it should be like—thick or thin, yellow or red. Give us a sample.'"

The next day, when the king heard such a reasonable answer, he bowed his head and said:

"You are right, I should give you a sample, but I have no way to get one."

And the king spared the lives of his nobles.

That same summer, there was a drought in the country. Under the scorching sun, everything burned: the grass, the crops, and the fruits. The rivers and wells dried up. The barns stood empty, with not a single grain left. The people were terrified—they all faced starvation. The king pondered, summoned his nobles, and ordered them:

"Do what you want, but if by tomorrow morning you do not tell me how to find grain for sowing, I will order your heads cut off."

The nobles left, dejected—it was no easy task to find grain. The old man saw that his son had returned from the king as dark as a storm cloud and asked what was wrong.

"This time, father, even you cannot help me," replied the nobleman.

"Why not?"

"Because the king needs grain for sowing, and there is none left in the entire country."

"Do not worry, son. When you go to the king tomorrow, advise him to order the peasants to dig up all the anthills. There is much grain in them. The ants have collected it grain by grain."

And so it was. The peasants went out into the fields, dug up the anthills, and found a sack of choice grain in each one. The king was very surprised by this discovery.

"Tell me, who gave you this wise advice?" he asked the nobleman who had saved his father's life.

"I dare not say, Your Majesty, for you will destroy me."

"I promise that not a single hair will fall from your head. Speak!"

Then the nobleman confessed that he had hidden his father and that his father had taught him what to do with the sand rope and where to find the grain.

A new law was then issued: it was forbidden to mistreat old people, and when meeting them on the street, everyone was to give them the right of way.

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The Wisdom of the Elders

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