The Wise Minister

The Wise Minister

A king had two sons, and both of them were foolish. The king’s minister, however, was very wise and extremely honest. Therefore, before doing any important work, the king always consulted his minister. The two princes secretly felt jealous of the minister.

One day, both princes went to their mother and spoke against the minister. Influenced by their words, the queen said to the king, “You always act according to your minister’s advice. What if one day this brings trouble? You should sometimes consult the princes as well. They are not as foolish as you think. If you do not include them, their hearts may be hurt.”

The king immediately summoned his two sons and said, “Tomorrow, I will test both of you.”

The elder prince replied, “Father, you always test us. Why don’t you test your minister as well?”

The king answered, “You both cannot match the minister in wisdom, knowledge, or experience.”

However, the king agreed and said, “If you insist, I will test the minister along with you tomorrow. But the condition is that if you fail, you will not only apologize to the minister but also accept him as your teacher.” Both princes agreed to this condition.

The next day, the king took the princes and the minister to a distant forest, where there was a huge pile of soil. The king said to the princes, “I want you to turn this soil into gold. In other words, find a way to earn a great amount of wealth from it.” The princes looked at the king in surprise. The king raised his voice and said, “Why are you staring at me in amazement? I give you one month. Within one month, think of a way to earn wealth from this soil.”

After that, the king took the minister a short distance away to another similar place and gave him the same task. The minister respectfully replied, “As you command, Your Majesty.”

The princes thought for a long time but could not come up with any plan to make money. Days passed, and after two weeks they began to panic. They assumed that perhaps some treasure was buried under the soil. With this thought, they started digging. Even after digging fifty or sixty feet deep, they found no treasure. Confused and helpless, they finally gave up and sat down in despair.

After one month, the king arrived and saw both princes sitting with their heads bowed. Upon seeing the king, they stood up and admitted their failure.

The king then took the princes to the place where he had left the minister. There, they saw many potters making clay pots, and thousands of beautiful pots were already prepared. The king was extremely pleased to see the large collection of pots. When the pots were taken to the market and sold, they earned thousands of rupees.

The princes were deeply ashamed of their foolishness. First, they apologized to the minister, and then they accepted him as their teacher.

This story teaches that intelligence, wisdom, and honest effort can turn even ordinary things into valuable resources, while ignorance and arrogance lead only to failure.

Advice Paragraph

This story teaches us that wisdom, experience, and honest effort are far more valuable than pride or jealousy. Instead of underestimating knowledgeable people, we should learn from them and respect their guidance. True intelligence lies in using resources wisely and being willing to accept one’s mistakes. When we replace arrogance with humility and learning, even simple opportunities can lead to success.

When we replace arrogance with humility and learning, even simple opportunities can lead to success.