A good day of hunting

This story concerns a king and his minister. The king was a middle-aged man and the minister was an old man. The minister always appreciated, admired and adored the king. Only one aspect of the king’s life he could not appreciate and that was the king’s love of hunting. The king spent a considerable amount of time hunting. He knew that his minister was not in favour of this pursuit, but he did not mind. The minister was good in so many ways. He was so kind, loving and faithful.

One day, God knows why or how, the king invited the old minister to join him in a day of hunting. The minister was shocked. At the same time, he did not dare to disagree with the king. He wanted to please the king by all possible means, so he accompanied the king.

The king and his entourage, including the minister, spent the whole day hunting. Fortunately or unfortunately, they did not come across any animal. The king was extremely sad. In order to console him, the minister said, “At other times you were always successful. This time I carried bad luck. That is why no animal appeared. In the future, please do not take me if you really want to be successful in your hunting.”

The king said, “Fine! I shall not invite you any more, if that is what you wish. Or do you want to come with me again?”

The minister said, “No, no! I am absolutely sure. I prefer to remain in the palace.”

That evening the minister returned to his own home. His wife was very curious to know how the hunting went. She asked, “How many tigers and how many lions did you come across today?”

The minister replied, “I had an excellent day, a simply excellent day!”

“Tell me all about it,” demanded his wife. “How many animals did you hunt?”

The minister said, “How many? Can you not see that I have come home so happy?”

“Yes,” said his wife. “I am seeing that you are beaming with happiness. That is why I am asking you about your hunting expedition with the king.”

“You fool!” exclaimed the minister. “Had I seen a tiger or lion, would I not have fainted immediately? I would have died on the spot! Then you would have felt miserable that you had lost your husband. I am so happy because I did not see any tiger or lion or any other animal. I am very happy and you should also be very happy that we did not see any animal. Because of that, you still have a husband!”