There was a mighty King. This King was loving and compassionate. He had such wealth that he had to build enormous store houses to store it all, but his riches were so bountiful that they, even in their enormous stature overflowed. This King married a beautiful Queen from a poor and weak kingdom that was far off and across a sea that separated them. The two Kingdoms were united and the bounty of the Kings land made the land of the Queen great. The two Kingdoms were ruled in harmony, the Kings land shared it’s wealth so that it was not wasted, and the residents of the Queens land shared the skills that they had mastered in poverty. Through the love they had for each other, the Queen became pregnant and the couple had a Son, who was destined to rule over the unified Kingdom of both of their lands. The King, accustomed to the ways of the Royalty of a mighty nation, expected that a Queen should act in a certain manner. But the Queen, who came from a lowly nation, acted contrary to the King’s wishes. The King, wishing that his Son be brought up in the right manner, became increasingly angered and agitated. There came a time when the King could no longer bear to have the Queen in his presence, and thought to himself that his Son would be raised better if he had no mother at all. The King banished the Queen from the whole of his side of the Kingdom. The Queen left, and nobody knew to where. It was not long until the King’s anger subsided and he regretted what he had done. The King, notwithstanding the solitude from whom He loved, left on a quest to find Her, leaving his Son, the Prince as King. The Queen had a brother, a despicable and foolish man. He came to the court of the King and made the case that a boy so young as the Prince is not fit to be King. The court agreed and made the foolish man King. So the fool reigned as King over both Kingdoms. He ruled harshly with evil decrees, and in doing so the wealthy Kingdom weakened and produced less wealth. In the pride he felt for his native Kingdom, he transferred all the wealth of the storehouses of the land across the sea. The only wealth that remained was the wealth that the true King had shared with His people. The Prince was brought up in the house of the foolish King, but the Prince was wise, and without the need of any guidance or teaching could see the ways of the false King were foolish. Upon realizing this, that the Prince was not like him, the false King took a wife to bear a son of his own. The wife of this King had twins, a boy and a girl. The foolish King raised the son in his house, and in his foolish ways. With only the need for a son, his Daughter was disowned and sent to work with the peasants who work the field under the heat of the sun. The Prince, weary of the foolishness of the Royalty which surrounded him, left and searched out their opposite. “If folly is found among the Royalty, wisdom must be found among the lowly peasants. Among the peasants He saw the most beautiful woman whom he had ever seen working the field. The next day he went out to introduce himself to her, but She was nowhere to be found. He asked the townspeople about her, and where he might find her. They told him she left to a far off town. A town which was the least of all towns. It was difficult to get there because the only road there was through an immense and dark valley, up and down cliffs where venomous serpents were hiding in the cleft of nearly every rock. At the other end of this valley was an enormous mountain, and this town was on the other side of it. Undeterred from the warnings of hardship that was on the path ahead, the Prince set off on his journey. When the Prince came to the steep slopes of the valley he knew that he had to be careful. He thought to himself “these are the slopes in which serpents reside”, and so that he would not slip he got down on his belly like a serpent himself, as a snake never slips. To guard himself from the serpents he moved slowly and smoothly, always conscious of where his left hand was placed and also so with his right hand. At the bottom of the valley he saw the multitudes of bones of those who had slipped or had been bitten by serpents and fell, never to come back up. At the other end of the valley was a cliff. On this side there were scorpions. He thought to himself “scorpions lodge themselves in the holes of the rocks, if I hold onto the smooth stones, surely I will be safe.” And it was in this way, through great effort he ascended from the dark valley. He came to the mountain and there was a path which went up it. Scarcely used, the path was overgrown with plants of thorns and thistles, all of them dead. There was no way around, for these thorny bushes covered the base of the mountain. There was no path but through. As he pushed through, all he could cover was his face with his hand. The thorns sunk into his skin and ripped their way out. Blood poured from his wounds. His legs, arms, and head were read with blood, but no thorn dug deeper than that in the hand that covered his face. The pain was excruciating, but for the love at first sight that he felt for the Maiden whom he was searching for, he could bear any pain. Half way through the bushes he saw what he had not yet seen, a flower on one of the shrubs. The plant was dead, but nevertheless, there was a beautiful white flower on it; perfect without flaw. “This flower is beautiful like the Maiden, it will surely be a sign to Her that She is all the Beauty which I see in this world,” thought the Prince. As he reached down for the flower drops of blood fell from his hand. “The flower has been tainted, ” thought the Prince. “But what flower do I have but this one, a white flower speckled with the red of my blood.” The Prince went and eventually he was through the thorns. As he exited the shrubs he saw a path, clearcut and paved all the way up the mountain. Within the comparison of the way in which he had been and the path he found himself on, he became overwhelmed with gratitude for the clarity of this path. With each step he became more joyus. He started singing sweet love songs and his walk became like a dance. He skipped along his way over the mountain. The Prince finally arrived at the town. Though he had heard it was the least of towns, it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. Those who had said that it was the least of towns said so because they had never heard anything about it besides its existence, for none who left for it ever returned. The Prince headed to the town square. The first thing he saw was his Father and Mother. For when his Father banished his Mother, because He didn’t want to see her, she left to the most hidden of all places. His Father had searched out every place and had not found her until He finally found her in that most hidden place. The Prince then turned and saw the Maiden for whom he so yearned. He approached her and knelt. His torn hand lifted the bloody flower and he said, “I have left my Kingdom and my Crown, my Maiden, all I have is this flower, and even it means nothing without you. Though I have yet to know you, you are all I have. Though it came from a bush which was dead, still in this flower I see your beauty, tinged with the blood of my pain, the hardship that I gladly have bared to find myself in your presence.” She smiled and said, “here in this city are many flowers, of every color, but never have I seen a flower of mixed colors, and of every flower, this is the most beautiful that I have ever seen.” The Prince asked the Maiden to marry Him and she agreed. He told Her of his plan to return to His Kingdom and make Her His Princess. It was on this that She revealed that She was already a Princess, the daughter of the foolish King who had banished her from Royalty. The Prince came to His Father, the King and pleaded that He should return to His Kingdom and retrieve the crown from the false King. The King explained that there, in the hidden town, He had no expectations for His wife, the Queen, and because of this, their love for each other had never been so strong and passionate. He told his Son that He would have to return to the Kingdom Himself and contend with the false King for the throne. The Prince and Princess left on their way back to the Kingdom. She explained to the Prince that there is a secret path, a way without thorns and steps down and up the valley, where no serpents or scorpions exist. The Prince thought to Himself, “it is good that I didn’t know of this path, as I would not have found the flower, and my journey there would have proved nothing for my love for the Princess.” Upon returning to the Kingdom, they saw that it was in ruins from the flawed rulership of the foolish King and his son. The Prince went before the royal court and contended for his reinstatement to the throne. The court, seeing the damage that the foolish King had brought upon the Kingdom, were eager to dethrone him. They said to themselves, “we had deposed the Prince of his Kingship due to His youth, but we know now it would have been better for this young prince to have ruled than this old foolish King. And behold, he is now married and of an appropriate age for a King.” And so, the Prince became King and the Princess became Queen, and again the two Kingdoms were ruled in balance and unity.