Fable of the King and Farmer

Agamemnon knew he was the greatest of kings and also knew that he was not the wisest. And so he disguised himself and went among the people to see if he could learn from their humble ways.

So it was that Agamemnon met a poor farmer. The farmer had but one field and a small garden for his family. The farmer had 10 sons and 3 daughters and a loving but tired wife. 

When Agamemnon saw this man he thought, “Surely this man with all his kids and so little wealth is among the saddest folk.” But instead, the man spent all day smiling, working his fields, doting on his sons and daughters, and loving wife. He gave graciously to his neighbors, though he had little, and prayed earnestly to the gods in thanks.

Agamemnon, pretending he was a traveler, approached the farmer’s house at dusk and asked for a room for the night. The farmer and wife accepted him and though they had little, offered him a mat to sleep by the fire and dinner with the family.

After the simple but tasty meal was eaten, the farmer offered Agamemnon tobacco for his pipe and the two sat talking. 

“Once again,” Agamemnon said, “I am grateful for your hospitality, but tell me, how is it that you give so freely?”

“How could I not? I am so blessed with riches, how could I not share in my wealth?” replied the farmer.

“Forgive me, sir, but you consider yourself rich? Are there not men with many more fields than yours? Fewer mouths to feed? More wives? A bigger house?” Agamemnon replied.

“Obviously, yes! They are rich men, too.”

“Do you consider yourself among the richest, then? Even as rich as the king?”

“Oh no. Not the king. As everyone knows, the king is very poor.” The farmer replied with a smile. 

“No! The king has wealth and a palace and armies. How could the king be poor?”

“Does the king give freely? Does the king trust the gods to make things right? No. The king collects taxes and guards his gold. The king visits oracles and seeks to know the future before it has come. And the king jealously protects the queen, Clytemnestra, from everyone’s eyes. Are those the markers of a rich man? “

“Ah! So! Should the king give his wealth and power away? How could he then be king?”

“The king does not trust in that what made him king before will keep him king in the future. He does not trust his wealth nor his fate nor the gods. He makes decisions to protect what he has today. But what brought him to the throne will keep him there as surely as what brought me the wealth of family and farm will keep my family fed and happy.”

Ending 1:

On the following day, Agamemnon thanked the poor farmer for his hospitality, returned to his palace and prayed earnestly to the gods in thanks for making him a wiser man. More and more, he began to recognize the great abundance of his wealth and soon became one of the greatest and wisest kings of any age.

Ending 2:

On the following day, Agamemnon thanked the poor farmer for his hospitality, returned to his palace and commanded that the poor farmer be executed, else the lower folk begin to realize that they had no need of a king. Peasants believe that they have nothing to lose, but kings know that they could lose everything in an instant.

Ending 3:

On the following day, Agamemnon thanked the poor farmer for his hospitality, returned to his palace, and received news that the deceiver Paris had stolen his brother Meneleus’s wife Helen and taken her to Troy. And so a thousand ships were launched to save the reputation of one man and to return one woman to Greece.