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1994-03-01
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The Kingdom of Knadda
Copyright (c) 1994, David A. Bates
All rights reserved
The Kingdom of Knadda
by David A. Bates
Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Knadda. All
the subjects in Knadda were happy and prosperous. It had been
this way for as long as the people could remember. The water was
clear. The air was pure. Everyone in Knadda had plenty to eat
and drink. Every family had a nice home in which to live.
The people of Knadda were grateful for their good fortune.
No one really knew why they should have such a good life. One
day, the people went to the home of the Wizard to seek an answer
to this question.
"O, great and knowing Wizard. Why do we have such good
fortune?"
"Kind people," the Wizard said. "The answer is really very
simple."
"And what might that answer be, great Wizard?"
"Put back what you take out. Repair what you damage. Clean
what you soil. Respect what you use and it will respect you. Do
these things and you will prosper. Thus has it always been and
thus shall it always be."
So the people of Knadda listened to the words of the Wizard.
They prospered for many years, as did their children. Each year,
there was enough food for all to eat and enough water for all to
drink and enough stone and wood for all to build dwellings. Life
in Knadda was good.
One day, a stranger came to Knadda. This stranger called
all the subjects together in the town square. When they had
gathered, he spoke to them.
"Good people of Knadda. I have come from a kingdom far
away. I am here because the Kingdom of Knadda is prosperous in
many things. You have clear water, clean air, many beautiful
trees. You can grow plentiful crops and build fine homes. For
that reason, I have chosen to build a factory here. We will make
chairs. The finest in the world. People from every kingdom will
buy our chairs. You will all become wealthy."
"But we already are wealthy," a voice said. "The Wizard
tells us so."
"Wizards don't know everything. Trust in me and I shall
show you a wealth beyond anything you can imagine. Follow me and
you shall have work for the rest of your lives, and the lives of
your children."
So the people of Knadda followed this stranger and turned
away from the words of the Wizard. The factory was built and
began to make chairs of all kinds. Wooden ones, stone ones, even
golden ones for the highest royalty. Sure enough, the people
became wealthier than they could have ever imagined.
The Wizard looked upon all of this with alarm. he begged
the people to turn away from the factory and return to life as it
was before. "Remember the words of wisdom I once spoke," he
begged. "Respect what you use."
"Begone, Wizard," one of the subjects angrily shouted. "We
no longer need your tired old wisdom. Can't you see that we are
wealthier now than ever before? We shall make chairs for the
rest of our lives, and our children will make chairs for the rest
of their lives. The stranger promised us. THAT is how it always
shall be."
Sadly, the Wizard turned away. He returned to his home on
the edge of the kingdom. The subjects of Knadda vowed never to
trust in him again.
Before long, many new people, after hearing of the great
wealth of the people, began to come to Knadda. They cut down
trees to build dwellings. They demanded more food than the
fields could grow. They drank more water than the streams could
hold. Soon, a new dwelling was being built on every piece of
open land.
The chair factory was running around the clock, making
chairs for every kingdom on Earth. What water the people didn't
use was piped into the factory. When it came out, it was dirty
and smelly. Every stone in Knadda was dug up and used to make
chairs. There was not enough food to feed everyone in the
kingdom because there were so many people and so much less
cropland. All the wealth of the land was gone. Even the great
trees were nearly gone, used for building dwellings and making
chairs.
Then one day, the stranger who built the chair factory once
again called the subjects together in the town square.
"Good people of Knadda. I have bad news. The chair factory
will be closed forever."
"But why?" called out hundreds of frightened voices.
"The water is fouled. The air is unclean. The trees, the
stones, the minerals, all are gone. We cannot make any more
chairs in Knadda."
"But you promised us work for as long as we lived, and for
as long as our children lived. What shall we do now?"
"That is not my concern. I am moving the chair factory to
another kingdom. One that has all the things I need to make
chairs. The things Knadda once had. Goodbye."
The people were frightened. Whatever would they do? How
would they live? The great wealth they had was now gone. "What
shall we do?" they asked in despair.
"Let us visit the Wizard," one suggested. "He will know
what we should do."
"Yes. The Wizard knows all. Let us go ask the Wizard what
to do."
All the subjects of Knadda went to the Wizard's dwelling at
the edge of the kingdom. "Whatever shall we do?" they all asked
at once.
The Wizard, now a very old man, stepped out of his dwelling
and spoke the same words he had spoken so many years ago.
"Put back what you take out. Repair what you damage.
Clean what you soil. Respect what you use and it will respect
you. Do these things and you will prosper. Thus has it always
been and thus shall it always be."
"Old fool," they shouted. "What good are those words now?"
"Seize him!" another screamed. "He speaks nonsense."
"Kill the Wizard! Kill the Wizard!" they chanted in unison.
The people fell upon the Wizard and began to beat him. As
they did so, they cursed and mocked him. When they had finished,
they left him to die and returned to their grand dwellings.
Many generations later, two scientists exploring in an
uncharted desert came upon the bones of a man in the hot sand.
The scientists were puzzled. How, they wondered, could a man
have come alone this far into such a wasteland? As they began to
brush the sand away from the bones, they discovered a stone
tablet clutched in the man's hands. On the tablet were but a few
simple words:
"Put back what you take out. Repair what you damage.
Clean what you soil. Respect what you use and it will
respect you. Do these things and you will prosper.
Thus has it always been and thus shall it always be."