The Reward for Removing the Obstacle
Once, a king decided to test his courtiers. He secretly summoned two servants and gave them an unusual command.
They were to bring a large stone on a cart early in the morning, before dawn, and drop it in the middle of the road leading to the palace gates. He also ordered them to do one more thing.
The servants went and carried out the order precisely. The king, meanwhile, climbed the tower standing nearby, because from there he could clearly see the stone lying in the road and hear people's voices.
After sunrise, the courtiers began arriving at the palace.
Many of them, encountering the huge stone in the road, became indignant and, with great difficulty, drove around it and continued on.
Some people silently drove around the stone; others cursed the king; still others cursed those who had brought the stone there; and some, unable to get around it, turned around and left.
Finally, a cart came along with a poor man who was hauling rubbish away from the palace. When he reached the stone, he stopped and walked around it. Then he unharnessed the horses, tied ropes to the stone, and dragged it to the roadside.
Then he saw that something was lying beneath the stone. It was a pouch of gold, and inside it was a note: “This is the reward for the one who removed the obstacle.”
Dmitriy Leo (based on an ancient parable).
