Cycle of Evil
However, one day he surprised them all
by announcing that he had decided to turn over a new leaf.
“No more cruelty, no more injustice,”
he promised, and he was as good as his word. He became known as ‘Gentle Monarch’.
Months after his transformation one of
his ministers plucked up enough courage to ask him what had brought about this
change of heart, and the king answered:
“As I was galloping through my forests
I caught sight of a fox being chased by a hound. The fox escaped into his hole
but not before the hound had bitten into its leg and lamed it for life.
Later I rode into a village and saw
the same hound there. It was barking at a man. Even as I watched, the man
picked up a huge stone and flung it at the dog, breaking its leg. The man had
not gone far when he was kicked by a horse. His knee was shattered and he fell
to the ground, disable for life. The horse began to run but it fell into a hole
and broke his leg. Reflecting on all that had happened, I thought: ‘Evil begets
evil. If I continue in my evil ways, I will surely be overtaken by evil.’ So I
decided to change.”
The minister went away convinced that
the time was ripe to overthrow the king and seize the throne. Immersed in
thought, he did not see the steps in front of him and fell, breaking his neck.
