Relax, be very still and listen – listen carefully to this tale about a young prince, who lived in a lavish palace in the desert. He loved to play all day with his friends. That is, until one day a stranger appeared and everything changed. Do you want to know what happened? Let’s see if we can find out!
The prince and his friends were happily playing ball in the courtyard when they heard a knock on the big wooden door. They stopped their games in surprise, for the palace was so remote that there were seldom visitors.
“Let’s go and see who it is!” shouted the young prince.
The door opened, and there stood a tall, bearded, simply-dressed man looking down at him with a twinkle in his eye.
“Good morning, sir,” said the prince, as he greeted the stranger.
“Have you come to see my father, the king?”
“Good morning, Your Highness,” replied the stranger.
“No, I’m actually here to see you. I’m going to be your teacher.”
The young prince’s smile faded. “I see …, “he replied gravely.
His parents had told him that some day he would have to learn all the things a king should know. He was just surprised that the time had come so soon. That night, when the queen was tucking the prince into bed, she noticed he was unusually quiet.
She looked into his eyes and said, “My dear son, you’re growing into a man. When your father and I become too old to rule, our great nation will be in your hands.”
“But I don’t want to grow up,” he replied.
“I know,” she said, as she smiled and kissed him goodnight, “but everything will be just fine.”
From then on the prince spent his days learning about his country and the world beyond. He was introduced to important people and observed his father at work. In short, he was taught everything that made a man worthy to be a king.
Years passed, and the prince grew tall, strong and wise. Then one morning, the teacher calmly closed his book and said, “Your Highness, I have taught you all I know and my work here is done. It’s time for me to leave.”
The prince had always known that this day would come, yet he loved and respected his teacher so much that he begged him to stay. But the teacher gently said it was time to move on.
The prince wept as his teacher departed. The queen wiped away his tears, saying, “Be at peace. Everything has its time, and nothing lasts forever. Your days of study are over, and soon you will be King.”
Before long the prince was indeed King. He married a princess from a distant land and they had a beautiful daughter.
One day, when the little princess was playing with her friends, there was a knock on the castle door.
“Let’s go and see who it is!” she shouted.
The door opened and standing there was a tall, bearded, simply-dressed man looking down at her with a twinkle in his eye …
It is only natural to want things to stay as they are, but life is a journey and change is unavoidable.
A wise person accepts this and enjoys each precious moment as fully as they can.
A) Vocabulary: Make sentences with each of the words below:
Lavish – grand
Stranger – person whom you have not met before
Remote – far away from other places
Seldom – rarely, not often
Gravely – seriously
Tucking – to gather bedclothes closely round someone
Wise – gained a great deal of knowledge or experience
B)
- Describe the setting of this young boy and his family –
e.g. Did they live in a city?
What kind of a house did they live in?
Where did the children normally play? - Describe the teacher.
- What did the queen say to her son when he was looking sad?
- What do you feel is the main lesson of this story?
- Who is a ‘wise’ person?
- We don’t have a king ruling our country now.
How is our country governed? - What, in your opinion, are the main attributes of a national leader?
Audio courtesy Tara Kriplani: