In the Kingdom of Fools
Introduction
“In the Kingdom of Fools” is a humorous folktale that highlights human foolishness and teaches the importance of wisdom and practicality. The story narrates how a kingdom run by an absurd king and his equally ridiculous ministers creates chaos through their illogical decisions. The tale ultimately conveys the message that wisdom and sound judgment are crucial for effective leadership.
Summary
The story revolves around a peculiar kingdom where everything is absurdly unconventional. It begins with a guru and his disciple entering the kingdom and encountering its bizarre rules. As the events unfold, the foolishness of the king and his minister becomes evident, leading to unexpected consequences. Let’s delve into the story in detail:
Life in the Kingdom of Fools
The kingdom is governed by a king and his minister who pride themselves on being different. They establish odd rules that defy logic, such as:
- Same Work, Same Payment: People are paid the same wage regardless of the nature of their work.
- Day is Night and Night is Day: The citizens are required to stay awake at night and sleep during the day.
The guru and his disciple find themselves perplexed by these strange customs. Despite the guru’s advice to leave the place immediately, the disciple, lured by the cheap food available in the kingdom, chooses to stay.
The King’s Foolishness Exposed
The story takes a dramatic turn when a thief breaks into a wealthy man’s house. Ironically, the thief dies when the wall of the house collapses on him. The deceased thief’s brother approaches the king, demanding justice. In response, the king and his minister begin a series of absurd trials:
- Blaming the Wall: The wealthy man is blamed for the wall’s poor construction.
- Blaming the Bricklayer: The wealthy man shifts the blame to the bricklayer who constructed the wall.
- Blaming the Dancing Girl: The bricklayer blames a dancing girl, claiming her constant distractions led to his shoddy work.
- Blaming the Goldsmith: The dancing girl blames a goldsmith who delayed her work, forcing her to walk past the construction site multiple times.
- Blaming the Wealthy Merchant: The goldsmith blames the father of the wealthy merchant for making him work overtime.
Finally, the king orders the execution of the merchant, now responsible for his father’s actions. However, the story doesn’t end here, as the king’s foolishness escalates.
The Disciple’s Trouble
The execution order takes an unexpected twist. The merchant is found to be too thin to fit the stake meant for the execution. The king absurdly decides that a fatter person must replace him. Unfortunately, the disciple, who has grown plump from overindulging in the kingdom’s cheap food, is chosen.
The disciple pleads for his life and remembers his guru. Meanwhile, the guru, through his spiritual powers, senses his disciple’s plight and arrives to rescue him.
The Guru’s Wisdom Saves the Day
Using his wit, the guru devises a clever plan. He tricks the king into believing that whoever is executed first on the stake will become the king in their next life, and the second person will become the minister.
This absurd idea intrigues the king and his minister, who, in their foolishness, decide to sacrifice themselves instead. They believe this will ensure their continuity in power in the next life. The king and the minister are executed, leaving the kingdom without rulers.
The Kingdom Reformed
The people of the kingdom, realizing their mistake in tolerating such foolish leaders, request the guru and his disciple to rule the kingdom. The guru agrees on the condition that normalcy and wisdom will prevail in governance. Under their leadership, the kingdom transforms into a just and sensible place.
Themes of the Story
- Foolishness vs. Wisdom
- The story highlights how foolishness in leadership can lead to absurd situations.
- It contrasts the irrationality of the king and his minister with the guru’s wisdom and practicality.
- The Value of Wisdom in Leadership
- Leaders must be rational and wise to ensure the welfare of their people.
- The king and minister’s lack of judgment proves disastrous for their kingdom.
- Justice and its Absurd Interpretation
- The king’s sense of justice is comically flawed.
- The story satirizes the misuse of power and authority by those lacking wisdom.
- The Consequences of Greed and Overindulgence
- The disciple’s decision to stay in the kingdom, driven by greed for cheap food, nearly costs him his life.
- This serves as a moral lesson about the dangers of succumbing to material temptations.
Moral Lessons
- Wisdom Overcomes Foolishness: Intelligence and clever thinking can help navigate even the most absurd situations.
- Beware of Greed: Excessive greed can lead to dangerous consequences.
- Importance of Rational Leadership: Leaders must act wisely and justly, as their decisions impact the lives of their people.
- Unpredictable Outcomes of Foolishness: Foolish actions often lead to unintended and sometimes humorous outcomes.
Character Analysis
- The Guru
- Wise and farsighted.
- Represents rationality and practicality.
- Saves his disciple through intelligence and quick thinking.
- The Disciple
- Naive and gluttonous.
- Represents the common man who is easily tempted by material comforts.
- Learns a valuable lesson about greed and trust in his guru.
- The King and Minister
- Foolish and absurd in their governance.
- Represent the pitfalls of irrational leadership.
- Their illogical decisions lead to their downfall.
- The Citizens
- Initially compliant with the foolish rules.
- Eventually realize the value of wise and just leadership.
Humor in the Story
The tale is replete with instances of humor:
- The absurdity of the kingdom’s rules.
- The illogical chain of blame during the trial.
- The king and minister’s decision to execute themselves based on the guru’s fabricated prophecy.
The humor is both entertaining and thought-provoking, as it underscores the foolishness of blind adherence to irrational ideas.
Conclusion
“In the Kingdom of Fools” is a delightful tale with a profound message. It humorously critiques the dangers of foolish leadership and the value of wisdom and rationality. Through the guru’s cleverness, the story teaches that wisdom, when combined with calm thinking, can overcome even the most ludicrous challenges. It also serves as a reminder to resist greed and prioritize rational judgment in all situations.
This timeless folktale remains relevant as a commentary on governance, justice, and human behavior, making it a captivating read for both children and adults.
Question 1: What are the two strange things the guru and his disciple find in the Kingdom of Fools?
Answer: The two strange things that the guru and his disciple observe in the kingdom of fools are:
- Every sleeps during the day and carry out their work at night
- The cost to purchase anything from the market was the same, one duddu (one rupee). Whether it was a measure of rice or a bunch of banana it cost the same.
Question 2: Why does the disciple decide to stay in the Kingdom of Fools? Is it a good idea?
Answer: The disciple decided to stay in the Kingdom of Fools because he was very happy with the fact that everything was quite cheap there. He had peculiarity of diet. He was tempted by the cheap food. So, he thought of enjoying an easy life by staying in that kingdom.
No, it was not a good idea to stay there for a long time. All the people of the kingdom were fools and they could be dangerous for them in future, as suggested the Guru.
Question 3: Name all the people who are tried in the king’s court, and give
the reasons for their trial.
Answer: Following people were tried in the king’s court:
- The merchant whose house was burgled: Because his house’s wall was weak and it fell upon the burgular and killed him.
- The bricklayer who built the wall: Because he built a wall which was weak and which collapsed killing the burglar.
- The dancing girl: Because she distracted the bricklayer with her jingling anklets by walking up and down the road where bricklayer was laying the wall.
- The goldsmith: Because he didn’t complete the dancing girl’s order on time and so she had to go to the goldsmith a dozen times.
- The merchant whose house was burgled (second time): because his father persuaded the goldsmith to finish his order first thereby delaying the dancing girl’s order. Since the merchant’s father died, the merchant had to be executed in his father’s place
- The disciple: Because the merchant was too thin to be executed by the newly made stake and a fat man was required to fit the stake. The disciple was very fat, hence he was caught
Question 4: Who is the real culprit according to the king? Why does he escape punishment?
Answer: The real culprit according to the king is the merchant because although his old father was the real murderer he was dead and someone had to be punishment in his place.
He escapes the punishment because he is too thin to be properly executed on the stake.
Question 5: What are the Guru’s words of wisdom? When does the disciple remember them?
Answer: The guru’s words of wisdom were that it was the city of fools. He advised the disciple to leave the city because he would not know what they would do next.
The disciple remembers this when he was going to be executed.
Question 6: How does the guru manage to save his disciple’s life?
Answer: The guru tries to confuse the king by expressing his desire to be killed first. Then to further confuse the king he tells the story of becoming the king in the next incarnation. Apparently, it may sound like a case of pure lie to save your dear one’s life. But if we go deeper consciously or unconsciously the sage is trying to save everybody’s life in the kingdom. Ultimately, he is able to pull everybody out of the misery of living in the kingdom of fools.
