A Promise Kept

The Emperor was getting old. He was a small man and now so elderly and stooped over that he seemed even smaller. This Emperor loved his country and the people he ruled over and his people loved him as well. But he had a problem. Because he had no children or heirs, he was concerned that at his advanced age, should he suddenly die, the country would be without a leader.

How should he go about selecting and appointing an heir? The Emperor thought on this for many days. At last he did decide upon a plan. A proclamation was drawn up and distributed throughout the kingdom. The Royal Palace was to host a contest for every eligible boy between the ages of nine and twenty-one. The details of the contest would be revealed at the Palace, at a time scheduled for the next month.

Chen and his family lived next to the river, a long walk from the Palace. Every day, Chen’s father went to work at the market in town. One day, he returned home waving a piece of paper and calling for the family to come and see. It was a notice about the contest to select an heir to the kindly, old Emperor. Chen’s father told his family that the market was abuzz with talk all about the contest. There was so much curiosity as to what the contest would be like. Chen’s family noted that Chen would barely meet the age requirement, since he had just had his ninth birthday.

Chen was very excited at the prospects of competing with every other boy in the kingdom for such an opportunity. He was also worried that as one of the youngest, could he represent his family well. Eventually, the day of the big meeting came and dozens of boys were at the palace to learn more about the contest. They were standing in a large room surrounded by walls covered with paintings and tapestries.

The low murmurings stopped immediately when the Emperor’s spokesman entered the room. All eyes were trained on the spokesman as he explained that the Emperor wanted a lad to be trained to do the work of running an empire. The spokesman explained that each boy would be entrusted with a single seed for one year. They were to take it home, pot it, plant it and take care of it for one year. Oh, Chen was thinking, I can do that, and got into line to be handed his seed.

Chen raced home to show his family the seed and tell them about his experience at the Palace. His mother quickly came forward with a pot to plant the seed in. Chen planted it, watered it and listened to his mother tell him how to care for it in the coming days. All the boys in the kingdom who’d been given a seed did the same. They had been given a great variety of different kinds of seeds, but did not know what plant they came from.

Chen took very careful care of his potted seed. He never forgot to water it or to set it in the sun. When rain threatened, Chen brought it inside and set it out again on sunny days. After about two weeks, the boys at school were beginning to talk about their sprouted seeds. Some of the boys lived near Chen and showed him their growing plants. Chen became worried because his seed had not sprouted yet. He asked his parents about he might be doing wrong, but they didn’t know. After a month, Chen was discouraged because his seed had still not sprouted. However, he continued to faithfully water and care for it.

The year for caring and growing the seed was almost over. Chen and his family were very frustrated at the failure of that seed to grow. The other boys began laughing at him and that, of course, made him feel even worse. Chen saw the other plants that the boys were growing and he just about gave it all up. However, Chen’s parents reminded him that he had promised to do this for a year and how important it is to keep your word. So Chen continued to water and care for that pot of dirt as though it had a plant in it.

Finally the day came that all the boys were to bring in their potted seeds. It was an amazing sight in that big room at the Palace. There were hundreds of potted plants and boys all chatting and comparing their projects. Chen was miserable listening to the jeers and jokes about his empty pot. He slowly squeezed back into a corner and wished he could shrink out of sight. It seemed like every single boy in the room had some huge beautiful plant to show and he was so embarrassed.

When the spokesman entered the room, he asked the boys to form a line because the Emperor was coming and wanted to speak with each and every boy and see their plants. Chen just wanted to take his pot of dirt and escape the room and run home. But that was not an option because the huge doors of the room were closed. Then the Emperor himself appeared and walked in.

There was a sudden hush as all eyes watched the old man climb up to his throne chair and sit down. His eyes twinkled as he looked out on the lush sea of greenery in the room and beckoned the line of boys to come forward. Every plant was examined and every boy was talked with until the only one yet to come forward was Chen.

Chen had been holding back, hoping to escape notice and somehow escape the room and now he was specifically asked to approach to Emperor’s throne. It was with obvious dread that Chen obeyed and came forward with his pot of dirt. He was so ashamed, wishing he had avoided attending at all. The Emperor, however, was smiling and beckoned Chen to come closer. Chen was so humiliated that it was several sentences later that he even realized what the Emperor was saying. The Emperor looked square into Chen’s eyes and asked him his name and if he had faithfully cared for the seed he’d been given. Chen nodded and nearly choked as he said yes.

The Emperor then stood up, placed his hand on Chen’s shoulder and announced to the rest of the room that Chen would be the boy chosen for training to become the next emperor. All of the seeds handed out to the boys last year had been boiled, the Emperor explained. They could never sprout or grow into the beautiful plants that filled the room.

Chen was stunned. Now he understood. The Emperor knew Chen was the one who kept his promise to care for the seed he’d been given, not replacing it with another when it failed to sprout. Chen had the character to become a great leader of the country the Emperor loved.