“Love In Disguise” by TiberJudy
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There’s an old story that’s told about a king who lived in a far-off, distant land. He had a rich kingdom, with all his needs and most of his desires met everyday by the royal court that served him. He was loved and respected by his family and noblemen and was known throughout the land for his wisdom and fairness. It seemed the king had everything he could have ever wanted. Except for one very important thing: he had no heir to whom he could leave his kingdom and all its wealth. So in his wisdom and he came up with a plan. He would invite young people from all over his kingdom to come to the castle and be interviewed for the job. He’d sift through the applicants and find the most-qualified, most well-suited young man to become his prince and heir. The king sent out the word to his people and then he waited.
Far away in a tiny remote village, a poor young man heard about the king’s plan.Intelligent and hard-working, his heart leapt at the thought of meeting the king and perhaps earning his trust to become his adopted prince. But the castle was a long way from the young man’s village and he had no supplies at hand for such a hard journey. So the young man worked and saved day and night to earn enough to buy the food he needed to make the trip and some new clothes to wear for his meeting with the king. After weeks of work and difficult travel, he finally found himself outside the king’s castle.
Sitting by the castle gate was a filthy beggar dressed in dirty rags, crouched in the dust of the road. “Have pity on me, my son” the beggar cried out to the young man. “Help me.” The young man looked down at the beggar and his heart was moved to pity for him. He gave the beggar the new clothes he’d worked so hard to buy. And he gave him the money he’d saved for his return trip home. The beggar was overjoyed and thanked the young man for his generous heart and kindness. But now his giving heart was fearful as he looked down at the old clothes he’d worn on his travels. Since he’d given away the only new clothes he had to the beggar, he was going to have to wear his old things to meet the king. “Oh well,” he thought, “I’ve come too far to let anything stop me now.” He was escorted into the palace and led down a long hallway to the king’s throne room. As the huge doors opened before him, the young man stepped into the presence of the king. There, seated on the throne, was the beggar wearing the clothes the young man had given him. The king looked at his shocked visitor, threw open his arms and exclaimed, “Welcome, my son!”
