Library:A Boiled Seed Cannot Sprout

A Boiled Seed Cannot Sprout
An ageing king woke up one day acutely aware of his own mortality. He had no offspring, and his was a culture where only the sovereign's child could take his place.

He decided that he would adopt a child who then could take his place, but he insisted that such an adopted child must be extraordinary in every sense of the word. He considered each of his advisors and relatives in turn, but found them wanting.

So he launched a competition in his kingdom, open to all children, no matter what their background. Ten children made it to the very top. There was little to separate these kids in terms of intelligence and physical attributes and capabilities.

The king said to them, 'I have one last test and whoever comes top will become my adopted child and heir to my throne.' Then he said, 'This kingdom depends solely on agriculture, so the sovereign must know how to cultivate plants. Here are seven seeds of grain for each of you. Take them home. Plant and nurture them for six weeks. At the end of six weeks, we shall see who has done the best job of cultivating the grain. That person will be my child and my heir.'

The children took their seeds and hurried home. Each got a pot, prepared soil, and sowed their seeds. There was much excitement in the kingdom as the people waited to see who was destined to be their next ruler.

In one home, a girl and her parents were heartbroken when the days stretched into weeks and the seeds failed to sprout. The girl did not know what had gone wrong. She had selected the soil carefully, she had applied the right quantity and type of fertilizer, she had been very dutiful in watering it at the right intervals and yet her seeds had turned out to be unproductive.

Some of her friends advised him to go and buy seed from the market and plant that, 'After all,' they said, 'how can anyone tell seeds of grain one from another?'

But her parents who had always taught her the value of integrity reminded her that if the king wanted them to plant just any grain, he would have asked them to go for their own seed. 'If you take anything different from what the king gave you that would be dishonest. Maybe we are not destined for the throne. If so, let it be, but don't be found to have deceived the king,' they told her.

The appointed day came and the children returned to the palace each of them proudly exhibiting a pot of healthy seedlings. It was obvious that the other nine had had great success with their seeds. The king began making his way down the line of kids and asked each of them, 'Is this what came out of the seeds I gave you?' And each responded, 'Yes, your majesty.' And the king would nod and move down the line.

The king finally got to the last child in the line-up. The girl was shaking. She feared that the king might have her thrown into prison for wasting his seeds. 'What did you do with the seeds I gave you?' the king asked.

'I planted them and cared for them diligently, Your Majesty, but alas they failed to sprout,' the girl said. She hung her head in shame, and the crowd jeered.

But the king raised his hands and signaled for silence. Then he said, 'My people behold your next Sovereign!'

The people were confused, 'Why that one?' many asked, 'How can she be the right choice?'

The king took his place on his throne with the girl by his side and said, 'I gave these children boiled seeds. This test was not for cultivating grain. It was a test of character; a test of integrity. It was the ultimate test. If a sovereign must have one quality, it must be that he or she should be above dishonesty. Only this girl passed the test. A boiled seed cannot sprout.'