Little boy blue

There is a story that was told...about a prince, fleeing from revolutionaries determined to kill him and take away his throne. The prince, terrified, sought shelter in a peasant's cottage.

Although the peasant had no idea the frightened man was a member of nobility he gave the prince refuge by telling him to hide under the bed. The prince had no sooner done so when his pursuers battered down the door and began to search the cottage.

The revolutionaries searched everywhere. When they came to the bed they decided to prod it with knives rather than move the cumbersome piece of furniture. At last they left.

The prince, pale but alive, crawled from under the bed after hearing the pursuers depart. He turned to the peasant then and said, "I think you should understand that you have just saved the life of your prince. Name three favors and I will grant them".

The peasant, a simple man, thought for a while and said: "My cottage is in disrepair and I have not had the money to fix it. Can this be done?"

"Fool!" cried the prince. "Of all the things in the world, why did you ask so small a favor? I will honor your wish, but what is your next request?"

"Sire, my neighbor sells the same wares as me in the marketplace. Would it be possible to change his location so both of us could make a better livelihood?"

"Idiot" said the prince. "Of course I will do as you wish. What foolishness, when you could have riches, to ask such nonsense! Take care that you do not anger me with another silly request."

No longer able to restrain his curiosity, the peasant said, "As my third request I ask only that you tell me how you felt as the knives were being pushed through the bed."

The prince, infuriated, shouted, "How dare you offend majesty by asking of my emotions? For this act I will have you beheaded tomorrow!"

The prince called in a few of his retainers and had the hapless man carried off to jail. All through the night the man wept for his folly and feared what would happen the next day. When the sun rose his jailers came to him and led him into a courtyard where an executioner with his black hood stood awaiting for the terrified man.

Forced to kneel on the block he heard a soldier call "One, two..." but before he could say three, another soldier on horseback came tearing into the courtyard calling "Stop! The prince commands it." With those words the executioner, whose blade had been resting on the peasant's neck, withdrew the sword. The shaking man arose and faced the soldier who had saved his life.

"His Highness gives you his pardon and orders me to give you this note," said the soldier. The peasant, relieved to the point of tears, began to read the few terse words:

"As your final favor you wanted to know how I felt under that bed when the revolutionaries came. I have granted your request because now you know!"

The prince had shown the peasant more graphically then words could possibly have done just what the horrendous ordeal had been like. The prince, no fool, had realized that some things are beyond describing. No matter how eloquent the words, their impact can fall flat when not accompanied by the similar experience.

My point in sharing this story- No one can quite know exactly what it feels like...the feeling of anguish and grief.