King Silly and Minister Sloppy

Story Note: According to certain theories, this story comes from the life of one Mukundasen, King of Palpa in vestern Nepal who, renowned for his wisdom and saintliness, conquered the village of Vijayapore.

Long ago, King Silly and his trusted advisor Minister Sloppy ruled over Vijay- apore, a village in eastern Nepal. Vi- jayapore was unique among the villages of the country, because in its central square, goods of the same color were sold for the same price. For example, rice, milk, silver,cotton, and flour, all white, sold for one price and brass, gold, and turmeric, all yellow, sold for another.

Now King Silly and Minister Sloppy introduced another law, not quite as logical as the first, which said that saints were to be punished by hanging and thieves rewarded with the pleasure of resting in the cool, delicious shade. People from other parts of the country used to say that because of these ridiculous laws, a saint should never venture into Vijayapore.

One day, however, two wandering saints came to the village. They had heard that milk, rice and millet flour were all the same price and wanted to barter their cheap millet flour for some rice and milk to make a lovely rice pudding. However, the bartering took some time, and when they had finished, it had grown dark. The two saints were forced to spend the night in Vijayapore, though they knew it was dangerous.

The saints stayed in a cow-shade but could not sleep from worry about what might happen to them in this strange village. That very night, close to where the saints were resting, thieves broke into a house. The saints saw everything but were too frightened to call out.

It so happened that while the thieves were breaking into the house, one of them banged his head on a low door. "Aieee!"cried the thief, rubbing his head. He was furious and went directly to the palace to tell the king what had happened to him. King Silly was very angry at the news of the low door and asked that the door be brought before him.

The owner of the house, on hearing the king's request, came to him, pleading on the door's behalf. "Oh, king, my door is innocent," the owner said. "It is the carpenter who made it who is at fault."The king then ordered his soldiers to bring him the carpenter. The carpenter too pleaded his innocence.

"My lord, it is not my fault, "he said. "It is the fault of the timber supplier. His boards were so short I had to make the door low."The king then ordered his soldiers to bring him the timber supplier. The timber supplier came to the court, pleading his innocence.

"It was not my fault, great justice! In fact, there are no tall trees left in the forest. All have been cut down to build the royal palace."

Now King Silly and Minister Sloppy were in a dilemma.Here was a person whose head was hurt, but no one was responsible. How could this be? they wondered. Then one of the members of the king's court, Courtier Unfair, came forward.

"Oh king, I know who is responsible for this accident,"said Courtier Unfair. "While the thieves were breaking into the house, two saints were in a nearby cow-shade taking shelter. They saw everything but did not warn the thief about the low door. So in my opinion, it is the saints who should be punished. "The king was now very happy, as was his minister.

The king quickly ordered his soldiers to bring him the saints. "We must hang them immediately," said the king, feeling well pleased.

The saints came before the king, and the elder of the two bowed low, saying, "Oh great king of the world, we have heard you are just and wise. And we have heard you never make a mistake and never fail to do your duty. So we accept your punishment without ques- tion. But may I speak with my friend before I am hanged?"

There was a rule in Vijayapore stating that the last wish of the person who is about to be hanged must be granted. "Yes, you may speak with your friend," the king agreed.

After a few moments, however, the saints were arguing over who was to be hanged first. The king, the minister, and the courtiers were all very puzzled. Never had they seen anyone competing to die. "What is this nonsense?" scolded the king. "Why do you argue over who will hang first?"

"Oh, just king," said the elder saint. "Please give us your wise counsel. Since I am older than my friend, shouldn't I be hanged first?"

But the younger saint argued, "I am the younger, so I should have the first opportunity. What if a father and his young child are both very hungry, and they find a single grain of rice-who should have the chance to eat it?"

"Why, the child, of course," said the king.

"But oh, great justice," interrupted the elder saint. "Ours is not a case of hunger but a case of rights. Tell us then, king, if there is an opportunity, who has the right to become king-the junior or the senior?"

"Neither,"said the king, "for I am king."

"But my lord," said the older saint, "this is not your story, it is our story. We are about to be hanged today in Vijayapore, and we know that whoever is hanged first, will be Vijayapore's king in a future life. The one who is hanged last will be minister. So tell us, who should be hanged first?"

"Ah!" said the king. "I recognize your cunning. I see that you two saints are conspiring to become the future king and minister of Vijayapore. There'll be none of that!"

"Soldiers!"called the king. "Take these saints to the border and see that they never return." As soon as he had spoken, the king hurried to the gallows and hung himself.

Then the minister announced, "There will be no other minister but I!" And he too hurried to the gallows. Courtier Unfair came forward in a rush. "It is plain I must remain a courtier in the next life."He ran to the gallows and hung himself.

So ended the ridiculous ways of the village of Vijayapore. The elder saint became king, the younger his minister, and the people were overjoyed to have reason restored.

[1]saints-holy men