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86. QUEEN'S PRIVILEGE
A certain king repeatedly received counsel from his young courtiers that he should always seek advice from the young alone. Old people with their skin hanging loose and going potty and senile should have no place near the king. But the king was not sure. He therefore decided to put both the groups, the young and the old, to test. He asked them one and the same question, "What should be the punishment for the one who has hit me on the head with the foot ?" The young group voted in favour of severe punishment. Such a person, they said, should be killed in a most horrible manner, quartered, cut to pieces before being killed.
The elderly people however did not have such a prompt reply for the king's query. They pondered over it and came to conclude that no one except the king's beloved wife would ever have the courage to kick him on the head. If it is the queen, she deserves to be treated with honour and if it is a beloved queen, she surely is worthy of very special treatment. They therefore told the king that such a person deserved great honour and respect.
The king very much admired the maturity of the old people and hereafter preferred the old as his constant companions.
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