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Individual and society
brave. He looked around and found a stick. He sprung forward and hit at the second dog, aiming for its head. This caused the dog to step away and the prince began to eat. But the dog did not give up. The prince kept lashing at him as he ate his meal. Thus the fight between the prince and the dog continued, while the prince continued to eat.
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As the third dog hovered around the third prince, he was neither frightened nor did he turn aggressive. He simply emptied a little food from his plate in front of the dog. The dog started eating and the prince enjoyed his meal as well. On and off the dog would bark and the prince would give some more from his sumptuous platter. In this manner, the prince enjoyed his meal and the dog was satisfied as well. In a short while, not only did the dog calm down, he also became friendly and wagged his tail at the prince to express his love and gratitude.
The test of the princes was over. The king and his ministers held a meeting to discuss the outcome. The consensus was that the prince who had run away was not fit to be a king. Life often brings forth challenges and contrary situations that one cannot turn away from. Such a coward cannot do his subjects and the nation any good. Making him a successor would result in the disintegration of the empire.
Regarding the second prince, although they agreed that he was brave and courageous, they knew that decisions in this world are not taken by brute force alone. In him, they found a man who would protect himself and his belongings but did not have the quality of extending his compassion to others. He seemed ready to destroy anything on the strength of his sword and might. They reasoned that although he may never run away from difficulties, he would also not hesitate to resort to violence at the slightest provocation. Therefore they decided that he would also not be fit to rule. Since he did not possess the necessary compassion to be a good king, he would only end up creating restlessness in the nation.
It was therefore decided that the third prince was the one worthy of the throne. He had proved without doubt that he
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