Long ago, a kingdom between two others fell upon hard times. The people grumbled, the surly underlings who outnumbered their king and his soldiers, although each soldier could probably slaughter a thousand before he fell. "This king has let us suffer, while he lives well," they snarled. The priest -- who had only one King in some place called Heaven, rumored to be just over the next mountain range -- had to agree. Kings, he felt, caused men to suffer, and wasn't there enough suffering in life, as it is?

The king heard from the ear of kindly merchant, Mosai, who told him of the grumblings. "They're not going to hold much longer!" he said. "My shop, my life, is in danger. You have to do something."

Read Brett Stevens' latest article: The Kingdom Of Peasants: A Parable