The Moley Prophet

Has anyone not heard of the story about a King, a commoner and a seed? I'm sure all those who studied in Singapore knew about it. The story goes like this:

There was once a King who had no children (kind of impossible, which king would pass on to a son who is infertile?) He was a wise ruler (always goes like this in stories) and he is really old. So, he wanted someone to take over his position when he dies. That person has to be an honest man. One day, he gave out a notice to tell his people that he was going to choose a boy to be the next ruler. All boys in the country are eligible. So they made their way to the palace. At the palace, they were each given a seed to plant and when it is time for the flower to boom, the king will select the one that he thinks is the best and let the owner be his heir.

On the day of selection, everyone came with bright and beatiful flowers (The King sure knows how to boost the economy) The King was disappointed at this. However, he beamed with delight when he saw a kid with a pot without a flower. The King questioned him about the empty pot. The boy then replied crying, "I tried changing the soil, the pot and the fertilizer but the flower will not bloom" (What an idiot, for what reason did he change the pot?) The delighted King then announced that the boy with the empty pot is the chosen one and will be the heir to the throne. He moved on to explain that the seed was fried and will not bloom. Those who had the flowers must be cheating (I told you! He made them go buy the flowers to boost the flower trade!)

What this story tells us is that we should not have a stupid and infertile King. What crap? I wouldn't choose to have a boy who did not even know that he got a seed which will not flower. What's worse, he tried changing pots to make it grow.

The story should be about a boy who took the seed which could not grow and on the selection day informing the King about it. A smart and honest example, instead of a stupid kid should be the way we teach our children to be.