14 Oct No King Like God
No King Like God is a folktale told to show that there is a higher intelligence (God) over every man, including kings.
No King Like God
Once upon a time, in an African country, there lived a king, who was greatly loved and feared by his people. The King commanded so much respect that every time someone came into his palace, he was greeted with “Long live the King.”
This King ruled his people for many years, and everyone respected him and greeted him in the same manner. But one day, a man who had recently moved into the kingdom decided not to greet the King in the like manner. He went to the King and said, “No king like God.”
The first time the young man did it, the King didn’t think much about it. He waved it off because he knew that the man was new to the kingdom, and maybe he didn’t know much about their style of greeting. But every time this man came, he kept saying the same thing – “No King like God.”
Sooner than later, this style of greeting provoked the King.
“This man thinks he is so smart. He has been in this kingdom for months now. He ought to have learnt how to greet me by now. Well, I will have to teach him a lesson,” the King thought to himself. And with that, he started hatching his plans.
The King became so obsessed with teaching the young man a lesson. Soon, he saw the perfect opportunity. The King called the young man to his palace one day and said – “Young man, I have been watching you, and you are a very respectful and trustworthy man. That is why I want to entrust to you two golden rings. Now, these rings were passed down to me from my ancestors. I do not want to keep them in my palace for fear of them being stolen by one of my maids, but I know they will be safe with you.”
“Dear King, thank you for entrusting me with this. I will keep the rings in a very safe place for you,” the young man said and took the rings away. When he left, the King smiled mischievously.
Immediately the young man reached his house, he called his wife.
“My dear wife, the King has entrusted something very valuable to us,” he said and took the gold rings out for her to see; and his wife gasped.
“Keep your voice down. We don’t want the neighbours to know. Look, this is a gold ring, and the King said that he trusts me, that is why he is giving it to me, so I have to keep it safe,” the young man told his wife and his wife agreed. She brought a dried and empty ram horn, and they placed the rings there.
A few days later, the King called the young man whom people have nicknamed No-King-Like-God to his palace. When the young man reached his palace, the King said –
“I want to send you on an errand. You will go to my wife’s village. Tell the people there to come and help us build our city walls.” No-King-Like-God agreed. He set out for the journey the next day, and immediately after he left, the King called No-King-Like-God’s wife to his palace.
“I will give you a thousand cowries if you give me the rings your husband gave you for safekeeping,” the King told her. No-King-Like-God’s wife was unfaithful; she knew what she could do with such money. So she took the money, gave the King the dried and empty ram horn, and left.
When the King opened the dried and empty ram horn, he saw the golden rings there; he smiled. The King gave the dried and empty ram horn to one of his palace guards and told the man to throw it into the river. The palace guard did as he was instructed and reported back to the King.
Now, as No-King-Like-God was returning from his trip, he met some of his friends, and they were about to go fishing.
“May I join you?” He asked them, and they all agreed. So No-King-Like-God joined them to go fishing. When he returned, he came back with lots of fishes. No-King-Like-God was very happy going back home, and so was his wife when she saw the number of fishes he had caught.
Immediately he entered, No-King-Like-God asked his wife. “Where are the rings I gave you for safekeeping?”
“I don’t know where they are!” The wife said absentmindedly and focused on preparing the fishes.
No-King-Like-God became very worried, and just then, a palace guard came to his house.
“The King requests your presence in his palace immediately,” the palace guard told No-King-Like-God and left. This heightened his distress level. However, his son, who was helping his mother prepare the fish his father brought home, suddenly hit a hard substance in the fish. After cutting it open, he saw the two gold rings and alerted his father immediately.
His father rushed to the kitchen, and when he saw the gold rings, he shouted, “Truly, there is no king like God.”
He took the rings and went to the palace. When the King saw him, the first question he asked was – “Where are the gold rings that I gave you for safekeeping?”
No-King-like-God hesitated. Immediately, the King signalled his palace guards to kill him, but before they could seize him, he put his hand into his robe, brought out the two gold rings, and showed them to the King.
“Truly, there is no king like God,” the King gasped and said. His elders also joined, repeating the statement. After that, they divided the kingdom into two and gave one part to No-King-Like-God to rule.
Moral Lesson
Never allow anyone to deter you from your belief, and always be honest.
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