The King’s Challenge and The Lazy Man

This is a story of the king’s challenge to let his friend understand the value of time.

Once upon a time, there was a King in Divyanpur who had a very lazy friend. He called his friend a lazy man.

The lazy man was fond of eating and sleeping the whole day. His hobby was having delicious food in front of him whenever he felt hungry. But he didn’t want to work. All he wanted to do was eat and sleep, doing anything. As a result, he didn’t earn anything.

He survived on his retired father’s pension. His father scolded him one day. “How many more days will you eat and sleep like this? Won’t you get a job or work to earn your livelihood? What will you do after I die? How will you survive then?”

Hearing this, the lazy man felt very much insulted in front of his father. He was quite aged, and this was a severe insult for him. Feeling disheartened, the lazy man decided to meet his friend, the King, and immediately left his home.

The King was delighted to see his friend after a week-long gap. He said, “How are you, Jaggu, my lazy man?” Jaggu was his name though the King called him a lazy man instead of his name.

Jaggu said, “I have a question.” The King answered, “Proceed. Let’s see if I may answer all your questions.”

Jaggu questioned the King, “Why does everyone say I can’t do anything? even when I attempt to find a legitimate job, no one will hire me. My enemies have told everyone that I never finish any work on time.”

“Let’s strike a deal,” the King declared. You go to my treasury before sunset to get as much gold and pearls as possible. If you can reach and achieve all those by the given time, all of them will be yours.

To meet his wife, the man dashed toward his house. After hearing the husband explain everything, the wife instructed him to “Go and get the gold and gems now.” The lazy man sat down and said, “I can’t go now, give me lunch first. Time is gold for you.”

He decided to nap after lunch but instead slept for two hours. He then went toward the King’s treasury with a few bags he had picked up late in the afternoon. He was hot on the way there. In order to rest, he sat down under a tree and slept for another five hours.

It was already late in the evening, just before sunset, when he finally got to the palace and the door of the treasure court. Consequently, the palace gates had been locked before he could get there.

Because he didn’t know how to value his time, he missed out on a golden opportunity to become wealthy.

Moral of The King’s Challenge and the Lazy Man Story

Time is limited. Make wise use of it and stop wasting time on trivial pursuits. Time is precious, and wasting it can lead to missed opportunities.