The full moon was in the night sky, and the palace was silent. The guard who stood watch over the palace gates looked out into the darkness. Everything was quiet and still.

The calm of the night was disturbed by a loud noise. The night watchman spun around in his position at the gate and looked toward the palace. Strangely, it seemed like the noise was coming from within the palace doors themselves. The night watchman pulled out his bow, nocked an arrow, and within seconds, and had it ready to strike.

“Halt! Who goes there?” cried the night watchman.

Whoever it was, continued on with a slow yet steady step. “Halt or I’ll shoot! In the name of the king, stop!”

The warning was ignored, and the steps came closer and closer towards the palace gate.

With very shaky hands, the watchman pulled on the string of his bow. It was taut, and the arrow was ready to be sent into flight. He pointed the arrow-as steadily as he could in the direction of the stranger.

“I give you three seconds,and then you die. Three, two, one…”

He was just about to let go of the string when suddenly, there stood the king. In the light of the moon, the watchman could see the king’s face clearly. He met the king and begged, “Your Majesty, please forgive me. I could have killed you. I was following my orders. Please your Majesty understand.”

Strangely enough, there was a calm look on the king’s face as he looked at his guard and said, “You have done well and have served me well. You have nothing to fear. You will not be punished. But please move out of my way so that I may escape.”

The guard was completely confused. “Escape, your Majesty? From whom do you need to escape? Your Majesty, I will call the rest of the guards, and within moments we will have a strong force ready to protect you. Do not worry.”

“No, no, that is not necessary” the king interrupted. “Look, I don’t have much time to explain. All I can tell you is that I must escape from my palace.”

“I can tell you are surprised. I know exactly what you think; you probably imagine that the life of a king is wonderful. When I was a young prince, I also thought it would be wonderful to be king. I was looked forward to assume the role of king and lead my people. I felt sure that I could use my wealth and power to help the poor and needy, and to negotiate peace with all our neighbors. These are truly important matters, and I wanted to occupy myself with them. But lo and behold when I ascended to the throne, I discovered that the king’s day is filled with a lot of meaningless formalities.

Instead of negotiating peace among countries, I am kept busy keeping peace among my jealous advisors. The palace staff feels that every small detail regarding menus and protocols are more important than state matters. It is assumed that I must have a personal dresser and advisor, who constantly are concerned how I look, who I see and where I stand or sit. I cannot reach my subjects or do the important work I want to do.

“True, the food is delicious, and the grounds are beautiful. The furniture and decorations in the palace are pleasing to the eye, but there is an emptiness in my heart that just won’t let me enjoy them.” The king took a deep breath and sighed, “Please open the gates quietly and don’t make another sound so I can slip out into the darkness.”

“Your Majesty,” questioned the guard. “Who will run the kingdom? Without you on the throne there will be problems. Your Majesty, we all love you and trust you to run the affairs of the state.”

The king smiled, “You are an honourable guard, and I appreciate your loyalty. Don’t worry. I will be back. I am just going away for a short time. I must get away for just a few days. It is my chance to free myself from all these silly details and ponder over what my country really needs.”

Noting the concern still apparent in the watchman’s eyes, the king added, “I am touched by your dedication, my man. Take this purse full of gold coins and spend them well. This is my way of thanking you for keeping my secret. You are a faithful servant, and I know I can trust you.”

“Yes, your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty,” was the response of the guard, as he quietly opened the gates. The king slipped out into the dark night.

Moments later in a clearing, the king reached into a hollow of one of the old trees and pulled out a bag of plain peasant’s clothing. The king quietly changed his clothes, and was almost unrecognizable.

The king ran through the darkness, sometimes tripping over the tree roots, but always quickly getting up, running farther and farther away from the palace. After many hours, the king stopped to rest, miles from his palace.

It was a cold and very uncomfortable night for the king, who slept on the bare ground of the forest. As the dawn broke, the king woke in a good mood even though his neck hurt, and his muscles were sore. He was not accustomed to the ways of the woods; yet, he was happy just to breathe the country air, to hear the birds singing and to be surrounded by the beauty of nature.

Here in the forest there were no advisors standing over him; no servants hovering to satisfy his requests or needs. The king was glad he successfully escaped from the palace. He took a few moments to enjoy the forest’s sights and sounds. The birds and small animals were also just rising, and everywhere was the excitement and anticipation that a new day brings.

His thoughts turned to the palace. “They are probably just waking up, and noticing that I am not in the palace. There must be quite a commotion. The guards are probably searching everywhere for me.” Sighing, he reminded himself that he was not yet where he wanted to be. He stood up, stretched, and began walking.

He continued to walk until finally he found himself in a beautiful valley. The grass was a deep, dark green, lush and tall. Flowers of all shades were scattered everywhere making the valley look like a giant rainbow. Here and there grew apple trees whose shade created lovely canopies, and whose fruit seemed as though it would melt in one’s mouth. A small stream trickled over the rocks at one end, and around it grew honeysuckle, filling the valley with a sweet perfume. The king was overcome by the beauty around him. He dropped to the ground, and like a little boy, rolled around and around in the grass. When he finally came to a stop, he lay there lazily, staring up at the deep blue sky and enjoying the view.

He watched the clouds drift across the sky and said, “This is truly a peaceful place. I have waited years for this—a chance to enjoy the beauty of nature alone and to think.” Soon, from the other end of the valley, he heard the sounds of sheep. “What a beautiful sight,” he said, watching at the hundreds of sheep walking aimlessly through the grass, grazing.

“Could there be anything more wonderful than this?” thought the king. Almost as an answer to his question, he heard a soft melody the shepherd played on his flute. “I hope he doesn’t see me,” thought the king, as he hid behind a tree and listened to the beautiful song that the shepherd was playing.

It was an enchanting melody. The king had never heard anything like it in all of his life. It seemed to have no beginning or end. It was a soulful tune, and as it echoed all across the valley, his body began to tremble with the beauty of the song. The melody touched the very core of his being.

The king was astonished. “It seemed that the shepherd wanted to ‘Sing to him, sing praises to him, and tell of all his wonderful works.’ (I Chronicles 16:9) Who could have written such beautiful music with such mystical depth and meaning? I want to listen to this melody forever,” he thought.

Every once in a while, the shepherd rested, and the king waited eagerly for another chance to hear the melody. Then it would start again, and again the king would tremble, shake and shiver. The majestic glory of the melody seemed to have been sent to him from heaven.

The king wanted to thank the shepherd for these moments of peace and rare pleasure, but he was afraid. “No one can know I am here,” he reminded himself and remained still.

Throughout the day, the shepherd played the haunting melody on his flute, and the king listened with rapture. As the sun slowly set, the shepherd put away his flute and herded the sheep out of the pasture.

That night the king slept a deep, restful sleep. He had not enjoyed such a sleep in many months. He heard the shepherd’s melody in his head as he slept. When he woke up, the king felt more rested than he had ever felt in his life.

The next morning, the shepherd returned and played the melody on his flute as he watched the sheep. The king decided, “I must learn this melody and take this song back with me to the palace. When I feel troubled with the pettiness of the palace, I will sing the melody. I will hum it to myself, and I will be instantly transported to the beauty of this valley. That will give me the patience to solve the many problems. I wish I could hold onto this peace forever.”

For three days the king spent his time in the valley in happiness, listening carefully to every note. As the sun set, he realized it was time to return to the palace and take charge of the kingdom’s affairs.

The king began his journey back to his palace and tried to hum the melody to himself. It was very difficult, but the king thought, “I will always remember it, the melody with no beginning and no end. And most of all, I’ll always feel the peace of the melody that came to me from heaven.”

Hours later, the king was back at the palace gates. Instantly, the commotion began. His servants were everywhere, the guards surrounded him, and everyone demanded his full attention. “Your Majesty, where were you? We were searching everywhere!”

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

Rachmiel Tobesman is a motivational speaker and Maggid (spiritual Storyteller). He is available for speaking engagements or storytelling, Click here to contact us

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