The King & His Missing Fingertip

Once upon a time, there lived a king. He ruled over a small but prosperous kingdom. In spite of being surrounded by several neighbours who were in constant conflict with each other, life in this kingdom was peaceful.

The king’s subjects felt a deep sense of gratitude towards him for the peace and harmony in their lives. What they did not know was that the king had a trusted advisor who was by his side, every single second.? It was the advisor’s wisdom and diplomacy that had led to the peace and prosperity of the kingdom. The advisor was the real leader.

The king valued his advisor and had unshakeable faith in him. There was only one thing about the advisor that constantly irritated the king. It was this one sentence that the king had heard the advisor say on multiple occasions, “Whatever life brings to you, is a part of a larger plan that will work in your favour”.

One day the king called for his manicurist. The king placed great value in looking impeccable. That particular day happened to be stormy and a sudden cloudburst startled the manicurist. She lost grip of the sharp scissors in her hand and ended up cutting one of the king’s fingertips.

This enraged the king. He ordered his staff to lock the manicurist in a dungeon. That very moment the king heard his advisor say, “Whatever life brings to you, is a part of a larger plan that will work in your favour”.?

The king couldn’t take it anymore. He was fed up with this sentence and felt like that was the most inopportune moment for the advisor to be repeating it. Blinded by anger, he asked the guards to throw the advisor into the dungeon along with the manicurist.

The next day, the king felt the need to calm his nerves. He took one of his favourite horses and rode into the jungle. The serenity of the jungle felt soothing to his mind and so he kept going deeper and deeper into the jungle. Suddenly he noticed that he wasn’t alone. He was surrounded by fierce tribesmen.

The tribesmen captured the king and started getting him ready for a sacrifice to their deity.?

Astonished by the way he was being treated, he yelled, “Don’t you know who I am?”. Unaffected by his social status and what he was saying, the tribesmen continued preparing for the ritual.?

Soon their chief came to take stock of the preparations for the rituals. He noticed that the king had a missing fingertip. “Offering this man with a missing fingertip will be an insult to the deity. Send him away”.

The tribesmen threw the king a few miles away from the site where the ritual was to be performed. Relieved that he could now return to his palace, the king began heading back in his soiled and tattered clothes.

When he reached his palace, his anger had subsided. He immediately asked his guards to release the manicurist and the advisor.

That evening, as the king and the advisor were relaxing by the pool, the king said, “You were right my friend; the missing fingertip saved my life. But please tell me something, how was being locked up in a dungeon a good thing for you?”.

The advisor responded with a solemn smile, “If you hadn’t thrown me in the dungeon, I would have been with you in the jungle. And I don’t have a missing fingertip”.

This story got me thinking about all those times when things did not work out the way I had wanted. I realised that in hindsight, I felt grateful that some of the things I wanted did not materialise because had they materialised, I wouldn’t have been where I am today. It also helped me understand that I was unable to see the bigger picture back then and now, as I look back, I understand how the way things worked out helped me learn what I needed to learn.

I hope you’ve had a great weekend and are all set for the festive week ahead. Wishing you and your family a very Happy Diwali ???.

A heartfelt thank you to all those who have placed orders for The Tenth Story. I am moved by the love and support that I have received throughout this week. Can’t wait to hear the feedback about the book when you receive your copies.

You can purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B0BJ76Z95N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1