orange fairy book

Chapter 10 Wanting to See the King of Heaven

Long, long ago, there was a king.One day, while out hunting, he came to a remote place in the mountains, where he met a liar.The crook was sitting on a small bedstead, wearing a patched cloak, reading a book.

The king asked him what he was reading, and he told the king that he was reading a book about heaven and prayed that he would enter heaven in the future.So they talked.The king asked him by the way if he could have a look at what heaven looked like, because it was hard for him to believe what he had never seen with his own eyes.The liar said that what the king asked was very difficult and could be very dangerous, but he would pray for the king and maybe help him to achieve it.He also warned the king that it was dangerous not to believe in heaven, but that it was better not to be curious to see heaven.However, the king was not about to change his mind, and he promised the crook that he would feed the crook for a lifetime if he would pray for him, and the crook agreed.

Days passed and the king kept his promise and kept sending food to the crook.But every time he sent food and asked the liar when he would be able to see heaven, the liar always replied, "Not yet, not yet!"

A year or two passed, and one day the king heard that the trickster was very ill--or rather, he was thought to be dying.The king at once went to see him, and found that he was really dying, so to speak, with his last breath left.So the king begged him to fulfill his promise and give him a glimpse of heaven.The dying liar replied that if the king could attend his funeral, he would see heaven when the tomb was sealed and everyone was gone, and the king laid his hand on the tomb.The liar told the king that it is better not to do this, but to see what heaven looks like, and to wait until God calls him.But the king's curiosity was still great, and he didn't want to give up just like that.

After the liar died, the king buried him.After the others had gone, the king stayed.He looked around, made sure he was alone now, and stepped forward, laying his hands on the grave.The tomb was opened immediately!The king looked inside in amazement, and saw a flight of rough steps leading down. At the bottom of the steps, the liar was sitting on the old bedstead, reading a book, as usual!

At first, the king was so surprised and frightened that he stared and didn't move!At this moment, the liar beckoned to him to come down, and the king mustered up his courage, and boldly stepped into the tomb.

The liar stood up, walked a few steps down a dark passage, and beckoned the king to follow.Not long after, he stopped, turned around with a solemn expression, faced the king, and gestured with his hands, as if pulling back a heavy curtain.What did he want to show the king?No one knew what he showed the king, and he told no one.Just when the liar finally drew down the curtain and the king turned to leave there, he took a look at what heaven looked like!

After leaving the tomb, the king reflected on the experience just now, and the whole process seemed to have happened only a few minutes ago.So what exactly did he see?He racked his brains to remember, but he couldn't remember anything!And how strange is everything around now!Why does the city look so strange!

The sun had already risen, and he walked into the gate of the palace and came to the main hall.The hall was full of people, but there was another king sitting on the throne!The poor king, perplexed, sat down and stared at him.After a while a servant passed by him and asked him why he had the audacity to sit down before the king without his consent.

"I am the king!" he exclaimed.

"What king are you?" said the squire.

"I am the real king of this country!" he said angrily.

The attendant went over and said a few words to the king seated on the throne.Here and there he heard them say phrases like "madman," "age," "sympathy," and then the king on his throne called him to step forward.He walked up, and accidentally saw his figure reflected in the guard's shiny steel shield, and backed up a few steps in surprise!He himself looked old, dirty, and tattered!His white beard and hair were long and unkempt, falling over his chest and shoulders, and the only thing that showed his dignity was the signet ring on his right hand.Trembling, he yanked it off and held it aloft for the king to see.

"Who do you say I am," cried he, "this is my seal, and I sat, yesterday, where you sit!"

The king looked at him sympathetically, and at his signet ring with curiosity, and then he ordered his attendants to bring the dusty kingdom records, archives, and old coins of previous dynasties, and compare them carefully with the signet ring.Finally the king said to him: "Old man, the king who owns the ring you held ruled here 700 years ago, but I heard that he disappeared later, no one knows where he went, where did you get this ring?"

The old man beat his chest and stamped his feet, and burst into tears of sorrow. He understood that because he couldn't wait to see the heaven, he had been punished by God now!He turned and left the hall without saying anything, and walked into the jungle, where he prayed and meditated for 25 years, so that his mind was purified, and finally when the god of death came to him, he mercifully absolved him of his sins.

(End of this chapter)