The Circle Of 99: An Inspirational Story
Once upon a time there was a faraway land with a very sad ruler. He did not understand the reason for his melancholy until one of his wise men helped him to understand that it had everything to do with the circle of 99. It was a lesson he would never forget.
It all started one morning when the king, deeply depressed, saw one of his servants enter the room. The humble man laughed and happily hummed a tune. The king realized that the servant was always happy and wondered why. How could a servant be so happy when he, the king, could not find peace?
The king asked the man, “Why are you so happy?” The servant did not know how to answer. “Why shouldn’t I be happy?” he finally answered. “I live in a palace and serve the most powerful person in the kingdom… What more could I ask for? I don’t understand why I shouldn’t be happy with my life…”
This angered the king. He didn’t believe a word of it. How could a man with a house and a life much more modest than his own be so happy? The king threatened to behead him if he did not reveal the secret of his happiness. The servant apologized for insulting the king, but did not know what to say.
Wisdom and the circle of 99
Finally the king told the servant to leave. He could hardly stand the servant’s incessant smile. Even the threat of death didn’t really upset him. After the humble servant left, he immediately called the wise men of the palace. The mystery had to be solved.
When the wise men were all together, he ordered them to tell him why the servant was so happy with his miserable life, while he felt so sad. One of the wise men stood up and said, “It is simple. The servant is happy because he did not enter the circle of 99.” The king was intrigued. What the hell was the circle of 99?
The wise man told him that it was useless to explain the circle of 99 with words. He had to see it with his own eyes. The king only needed 99 coins of pure gold and he would show him how, after entering the circle of 99, a lucky man would become depressed. The king accepted the challenge.
Entering the circle of 99
The king ordered to make 99 coins of solid gold, the most valuable in the kingdom. He put them in a bag and took them to the servant’s house, accompanied by the wise man. They left the bag at the door with a note: “This is your reward for being a loyal and selfless servant. Enjoy it.” Then they hid to see what would happen.
The servant came home, saw the bag and was very surprised. He looked around and then entered the house intrigued. The king and the wise man watched from the outside, still hidden. The humble man took the coins and scattered them on the table.
He couldn’t believe his eyes. He started counting his new fortune and put the coins in stacks of ten. When he got to the last pile, he thought something was wrong. The last pile had 9 coins, instead of 10.
The pitfall of the circle of 99
The servant thought a coin had fallen from the table and looked everywhere for it. But he couldn’t find that coin. He then thought aloud, “Someone saw the bag and stole a coin.” Then he wondered how long it would take to earn another coin. He did some calculations.
Normally it would take five years. But what if he got more work? Perhaps he could earn a coin in just two years. What would it be like if he asked his wife to take on more work as well? Then maybe he could reach his goal in just one year…
From that day on, the servant became very distrustful and suspicious. He suspected that someone in the palace was stealing the gold coin that the servant said was missing from his fortune. He also worried that he would be robbed again.
The servant never stopped planning to earn another gold coin. He was stuck in the circle of 99. From that moment on, he never thought about the things he had, only the things he missed. So the wise man was right.
