eal it, he
finally told the reason of his anguish to responsible people who asked
him.

They said: "Do not suffer. Why do you not seize her?" But the virtuous
king would not do it.

Then General Force heard the story. He came and bowed at the feet of
the king and said: "Your Majesty, she is the wife of your slave,
therefore she is your slave. I give her to you of my own accord. Pray
take my wife. Or better yet, I will leave her here in the palace. Then
you cannot be blamed if you marry her." And the general begged and
insisted.

But the king became angry and said: "I am a king. How can I do such a
wicked thing? If I should transgress, who would be virtuous? You are
devoted to me. Why do you urge me to a sin which is pleasant for the
moment, but causes great sorrow in the next world? If you abandon your
wedded wife, I shall not pardon you. How could a man in my position
overlook such a transgression? It is better to die." Thus the king
argued against it. For the truly great throw away life rather than
virtue. And when all the citizens came together and urged him, he was
steadfast and refused.

So he slowly shrivelled away over the fever-flame of love and died.
There was nothing left of King Glorious except his glory. And the
general could not endure the death of his king. He burned himself
alive. The actions of devoted men are blameless.

When the goblin on the king's shoulder had told this story, he asked
the king: "O King, which of these two, the king and the general, was
the more deserving? Remember the curse before you answer."

The king said: "I think the king was the more deserving."

And the goblin said reproachfully: "O King, why was not the general
better? He offered the king a wife like that, whose charms he knew from
a long married life. And when his king died, he burned himself like a
faithful man. But the king gave her up without really knowing her
attractions."

Then the king laughed and said: "True enough, but not surprising. The
general was a gentleman born, and acted as he did from devotion to his
superior. For servants must protect their masters even at the cost of
their own lives. But kings are like mad elephants who cannot be goaded
into obedience, who break the binding-chain of virtue. They are
insolent, and their judgment trickles from them with the holy water of
consecration. Their eyes are blinded by the hurricane of power, and
they do not see the road. From the most ancient times, ev