The Good King
By Rick Clarke
Written and read by Rick Clarke for Tales from the Forest. 8:31Mins.
Once upon a time in the far distant past, there was a king who lived in a castle
within a great enchanted forest.
The kingdom he owned was a vast land which included mountains, forests,
deserts and oceans.
He was a good king and a good man. He looked after his people.
He had built for his servants and forest workers lodges that were sympathetic
to their surroundings.
1:00mins
When the winters were harsh he made sure the villages were provided with
extra food supplies and wood for fuel and heat.
He provided schools for each village, so that all of the people in the land could
be educated, and were taught how to read and write and do arithmetic. They
were also taught how to manage their farms and the land on which they
depended for food and trade.
1:26mins
He was a very peace-loving king.
He was not interested in amassing armies and wealth and taking over foreign
lands like some kings do. His kingdom was large enough.
Even though his castle resided within the great enchanted forest, he was not
interested in hunting for animals like most kings would be. Instead, he took the
time to learn their language and spent many hours in the forest talking to all the
creatures and becoming their friend.
2:00mins
He was a very well-liked king. The people loved him, all the creatures loved
him, and because of the way he ran his kingdom, it was a very prosperous,
peaceful and happy place to live. Many described it as a Paradise.
One day an evil baron came to the kingdom. He was jealous of the way the
king ran his domain, and of the way the people all loved him so much. He was
determined to take that reverence away from the king.
2:55mins
And so the baron amassed a vast army and began marching into the kingdom,
starting an invasion.
As word began to spread of the baron's army invading the kingdom, the people
began leaving their villages and headed for the enchanted forest where the
king resided.
As the invasion progressed, the Baron and his men began hunting in the
forests, but as word spread among the animal kingdom of these atrocities, just
like the villagers, the animals and creatures throughout the kingdom also
began to leave their homes and head for the enchanted forest.
4:16mins
Soon there was a vast gathering of people and creatures amassed in the large
clearing outside the king's castle in the forest.
The king was very sorrowful. He stepped out onto a large balcony to address
his people.
"Good people and creatures of my kingdom. Today is a very sad day. I know
you have come here because the baron is taking over your villages and your
homes.
I must confess as I stand here before you, that I have not been a very good
king.
I should have foreseen what was going to happen and taken measures to
prevent the baron from invading. But because I believe in peace, I have not
taken the time to build any armies, and now this has happened.
5:10mins
I can not lie to you my people, I'm afraid I do not know what to do. I have no
experience with building armies and I can only fear the worst that the baron will
eventually come here and take control of the whole kingdom".
Just then a man from the crowd stepped forward. This man unbeknowing to
the king had been elected by the people and the creatures to speak on their
behalf.
"My dearest king," he said loudly so that the entire crowd could hear too.
"You are mistaken; you are certainly not a bad king. In fact you have been the
best king that any nation or any kingdom could have ever wished for.
You look after us, you treat us as equals.
In harsh winters you ensure we have adequate firewood and food so we do not
perish.
If we are sick you send your best doctors to come and heal us.
You have provided schools for our children, and have educated us, taught us
to read and write and do mathematics.
You have shown us how to look after our lands and generate trade and wealth
efficiently, and as a result, we all live prosperous and fulfilling lives. We have
become a great civilisation.
6:38mins
Because of this, we are your unquestioning loyal subjects. You have our
complete and unyielding loyalty.
This is your hour of need, and we will not let you or the kingdom fall.
We understand you have no experience with building armies - nor do we
expect you to engage with that task now.
You are a good and kind man, a man who does not believe in the taking of life.
And we can not in good conscience ask you to lead us into battle.
Instead, we will go to the baron ourselves, and we will drive him back to his
lands.
We will go now, and we will deal with the baron. Fear not, for a man defending
his home has the strength and power ten times that of a paid soldier."
7:37mins
And so all of the people of the villages and the creatures of the forests went to
confront the baron and his army, and because the people were educated and
wise, they were also very clever.
They were able to use methods other than fighting to drive the baron and his
army away.
In one single day the baron was defeated, and his army had fled the kingdom
never to return.
8:07mins
The people and creatures of the kingdom returned to the castle and there was
a huge celebration, for the kingdom was once again a paradise, and the king
went on to reign in total peace for the rest of his long and happy life
The End