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The prince’s wisdom
Once upon a time in a kingdom far far away there lived a king who was very wise. He would also treat his people well. All the people loved him. The king had one son. He was very handsome and wise just like his father. One day the prince went hunting with his father and some guards. They were returning home in failure when the prince spotted a deer. It was a fawn. The prince went after it leaving the others behind. It was only after the king reached the palace that he noticed that the prince was missing. He became very worried but since it had become dark, no one could go back to look for him.
On the other hand the prince caught the fawn and was heading back when he noticed its mother following him. He felt sorry for it and let it go. After this he noticed that he was lost. He decided to go a little further. He found a cottage. He tied his horse to a tree and knocked at the door. An old woman opened the door. The prince asked if he could stay the night with her and the woman agreed. She gave him a piece of foam and a blanket and showed him a room where he was to stay.
In the morning he asked the woman for directions but instead of giving him directions, she gave him five birds and said “If you go into the wrong part of the forest one of them will die. But beware prince, if the last bird dies you will never get out of the forest again.” The prince was astonished by this answer, but he did what she said. The old woman gave him some food and water. Soon he was on his way.
After a few miles he came to a point where the road went in two directions. He could not decide which way to go. In this moment of difficulty he used his wisdom. He took two birds from the cage and put each one in both directions. The bird on the left side died as soon as he put it there. So he chose the path towards the right and went on it. After a while he came to a river which ended in a waterfall. He felt tired so he sat under the shade of a tree and soon fell asleep. A monkey was passing by and saw the chance to play a naughty trick. He opened the bird cage and left it open. This caused two birds to fly away. One of them flew down the waterfall and the other flew across the river. The one that flew across the river died.
A few moments later the prince woke up with a start. He saw that two birds were missing. This disturbed him very much. He started to cross the river but when he saw the dead bird he started to climb down the waterfall. When he reached down he saw many trees that some how felt familiar to him. He crossed the trees and was overjoyed to see the city gates. He remembered now that it was the place where he had gone hunting.
In the daylight he could see his way clearly and soon reached the palace where his parents were overjoyed to see him. That day they gave a feast to the whole kingdom. During the feast the prince remembered that he still had one bird left. He went into his room and fed the bird. As soon as he had done that, he heard a voice. It said “Congratulations! You have passed your test of wisdom and used the birds wisely. Now whenever you will enter the forest you will always find your way out.”
At first the prince did not understand. Then after discussing the matter with his father he understood that to be king you must pass a test, which will be given to you by the wisest woman of the kingdom. He was very happy. He was soon made the king and he lived happily until the end of his days.
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