Why the Elderly Are Honored

A cruel king once issued a law: all old people were to be killed.

"Old people can neither reap, nor plow, nor chop trees," he said. "They just sit at home, eat bread for free, and get in the way."

And so, the king's executioners rolled up their sleeves and took up their axes. All the old people were executed. Only one old man remained in that land—the father of a certain nobleman. The nobleman took pity on his old father and did not hand him over to the executioners. Instead, he hid him in a secret place and provided him with food. No one knew or suspected anything about him.

The cruel king had a black horse, and it was so unruly that the world had never seen the like. No one dared to approach it, let alone tame it. In the royal palace lived a cunning sorceress. One day, the king asked her how to tame the horse. She replied:

"How to tame it? Command, Your Majesty, your nobles to weave a lasso out of sand. Lasso your black horse with a sand lasso, and it will become as gentle as a lamb."

The king summoned all his nobles and declared his will:

"Bring me a lasso made of sand by tomorrow. If you come to the palace without it, I will execute every single one of you."

The nobles left, hanging their heads. No one understood how one could weave a lasso out of sand. Among the nobles was the one who had saved his father from execution. He returned home, and his old father asked:

"Why so gloomy, my son?"

The nobleman told him what the king demanded.

"Is that all?" said the old man. "Well, you have nothing to fear. Tomorrow morning, when you all gather in the palace, the king will ask, 'Where is the lasso?' and you will reply, 'Your Majesty, we are ready to weave a lasso out of sand, but we do not know what kind you need—thick or thin. Give us a sample.'"

The son followed his father's advice. The next day, the king listened to the clever excuse, nodded his head, and said:

"You're right. I should give you a sample, but there's nowhere to get one."

And so, the king did not execute the nobles.

That summer, a great drought occurred, the likes of which the land had never seen. Everything burned—grass and crops alike. The granaries emptied, and not a single grain remained for seeds. The people were terrified—what if they starved to death? The king, too, was deeply troubled. He summoned his nobles again and ordered:

"Hear the king's word! Appear in the palace tomorrow and report to me where to find grain for sowing. Otherwise, I will have all your heads."

The nobles left the king in despair. What were they to do? There was not a single grain to be found—not even a speck! The old man, who lived in hiding, noticed his son was once again troubled. He began to question him, and the son replied:

"Well, father, this time even you can't help me."

"Why not?"

"Because there isn't a single grain left in our entire land, and the king has ordered us, the nobles, to report to him tomorrow where to find seeds for sowing."

"Don't be afraid, my son. Tomorrow, when you go to the king, advise him to order the peasants to dig up all the anthills in our kingdom. They will find grain there, collected by the ants."

The next day, the peasants dug up the anthills and found a sackful of large grains in each. Then the king treated the nobleman kindly and asked:

"Tell me, who gave you such wise advice?"

"I dare not, Your Majesty. If I tell you, you will order me hanged."

"Speak! Not a hair will fall from your head."

Then the nobleman confessed that he had hidden his father, and the old man had taught him how to avoid the sand lasso and where to find the hidden grain.

And so, a new law was issued: no one was allowed to harm old people, and whenever they walked down the street, everyone had to give way to them.

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Why the Elderly Are Honored

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