05/06/2026
Among the servants of King Lion, the Sheep was the most loyal. He neither grumbled nor showed dissatisfaction in his conduct; because of these, the King loved him so much.
One day, the Lion called the Sheep and asked him why he worked with all his heart.
And the Sheep replied:
“ I am your steward, His Majesty. It does not matter how much harder I work or the stress I have to bear; as long as My Lord is well served, then I am happy.”
The Sheep’s reply gladdened the heart of the Lion.
“I will reward you for your stewardship,” he told the Sheep. “I am going to a feast in another Kingdom and only royalties are invited. I will present you at the gate as one of my Princes. The privilege to dine with the greatest Kings of the world will be your reward.”
Surprisingly, the Sheep accepted the reward with mixed feelings.
“You do not look excited, Sheep,” the King said.
“Forgive me, My Lord, I do not want to go. People will know that I am a common slave.”
The Lion looked at him for a moment and said nothing, for he heard in the Sheep’s voice a chain no eye could see.
Then he said:
“A slave and a Prince are but one. When a peasant wears a crown, no one can tell that he is not a King.”
“What about you, My Lord,” the Sheep added. “You know my state and I fear you may call me a slave at the feast.”
Standing from his seat, the Lion swore by his throne.
“If you will not call yourself a slave, let it be a sin unto me if I fail you. I will never call you a slave.”
With the oath, the Sheep became assured.
On the day of the great feast, Lion kept his promise. He introduced the Sheep as one of his princes and the Sheep was permitted to sit at the lofty reservation kept for the Lions.
The banquet hall was filled with the greatest Princes and Princesses of the earth. The Eagle, who was the King of all creatures that live in the air, was the host.
There were different delicacies and enough to drink.
From where he sat, the Sheep watched the stewards carry away platters still heavy with food. His eyes followed them each time they passed.
Around him, Princes and Princesses ate their fill and scarcely looked at what remained. But to the Sheep, every untouched morsel seemed a treasure being thrown away.
He tried to focus on the feast before him. He reminded himself that he sat among royalty. Yet the thought of so much food being discarded troubled him more than the grandeur of the banquet delighted him.
Again and again, he glanced toward the servants.
At last, he could endure the struggle no longer.
He rose quietly from his seat and followed them to the backyard.
There, he saw them dumping the food.
The servants, thinking he was a Prince, saluted him as one, and from them, the Sheep demanded a bag.
With the bag in hand, he hurried to where the food had been discarded.
There he knelt beside the heap and began gathering the leftovers with trembling excitement. The scents of roasted meat and sweet fruits rose from the pile.
Though a table of abundance awaited him inside, his heart rejoiced more over the scraps before him than the feast he had just abandoned.
In astonishment, the servants alerted the host.
“My Lord,” they hailed the Eagle. “One of the Princes is taking food from the refuse dump.”
“It is not true,” the Host said loudly. “A Prince can never live like a peasant. If you are lying to me, I will have your heads on a spike.”
As he furiously rushed out, all his guests followed him and, in horror, confirmed their fear.
Behind the palace, inside the refuse dump, was the Sheep. His bag was filled with leftovers, and he was feasting on the waste from the table.
The Eagle turned to the Lion and said:
“What can you say of this? Does it mean that your Prince prefers the waste in the refuse dump to the finest delicacies on the table?”
In shame, the Lion lowered his head and said:
“I presented him as a Prince, yet he has revealed what he believes himself to be.”
Then turning to the assembly, he added:
“His appearance, I changed; his introduction, I changed also; but there is no remedy for the slavery of the mind.”
Hearing this, the Sheep, in anguish, bleated:
“My Lord, you promised you would not call me a slave.”
The Lion replied:
“And I did not. You called yourself a slave.”
What did you learn from this story?
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Good morning besties, happy Friday
