'THE KING OF THE HILLS AND HIS FOUR SONS.'
"A great many years ago, in a country which cannot be traced upon the
maps, but which lies somewhere between the great rivers Indus and
Euphrates, lived Schelim, King of the Hills.
"His riches were unlimited, his palaces magnificent, and his dresses
and jewels of the most costly description. He never condescended to
wear a diamond unless it was inconveniently large for his fingers,
and the fiery opals which adorned his turban (like those in the
mineral-room at the British Museum) shimmered and blazed in such a
surprising manner, that people were obliged to lower their eyes
before the light of them.
"Powerful as well as rich, King Schelim could have anything in the
world he wished for, but--such is the perversity of human nature--he
cared very little for anything except smoking his pipe; of which, to
say the truth, he was so fond, that he would have been well contented
to have done nothing else all day long. It seemed to him the nearest
approach to the sublimest of all ideas of human happiness--the having
NOTHING TO DO.
"He caused his four sons to be brought up in luxurious ease, his wish
for them being, that they should remain ignorant of pain and sorrow
for as long a period of their lives as was possible. So he built a
palace for them, at the summit of one of his beautiful hills, where
nothing disagreeable or distressing could ever meet their eyes, and
he gave orders to their attendants, that they should never be
thwarted in anything.
"Every wish of their hearts, therefore, was gratified from their baby
days; but so far from being in consequence the happiest, they were
the most discontented children in his dominions.
"From the first year of their birth, King Schelim had never been able
to smoke his pipe in peace. There were always messages coming from
the royal nursery to the smoking-room, asking for something fresh for
the four young princes, who were, owing to some mysterious cause,
incapable of enjoying any of their luxurious indulgences for more
than a few hours together.
"At first these incessant demands for one thing or another for the
children, surprised and annoyed their papa considerably, but by
degrees he got used to it, and took the arrival of the messengers as
a matter of course.
"The very nurses began it:-
"'May it please your Majesty, the young princes, your Majesty's
incomparable sons--may their shadows never be less!--are tired of
their jewelled rattles, and have thrown them on the floor. Doubtless
they would like India-rubber rings with bells better.'
"'Then get them India-rubber rings with bells,' was all King Schelim
said, and turned to his pipe again.
"And so it went on perpetually, until one day it came to, -
"'May it please your Majesty, the young princes, your Majesty's
incomparable sons--may their shadows never be less!--have thrown
their hobbyhorses into the river, and want to have live ponies
instead.'
"At the first moment the king gave his usual answer, 'Then get them
live ponies instead,' from a sort of mechanical habit, but the words
were scarcely uttered when he recalled them. This request awoke even
his sleepy soul out of its smoke-dream, and inquiring into the ages
of his sons, and finding that they were of years to learn as well as
to ride, he dismissed their nurses, placed them in the hands of
tutors, and procured for them the best masters of every description.
"'For,' said he, 'what saith the proverb? "Kings govern the earth,
but wise men govern kings." My sons shall be wise as well as kingly,
and then they can govern themselves.'
"And after settling this so cleverly, King Schelim resumed his pipe,
in the confident hope, that now, at last, he should smoke it in
peace.
"'For,' said he, 'when my sons shall become wise through learning,
they will be more moderate in their desires.'
"I do not know whether his Majesty's incomparable sons relished this
change from nurses to tutors, but on that particular point they were
allowed no choice; so if they bemoaned themselves in their palace on
the hill, their father knew nothing of it.
"And to soften the disagreeableness of the restraint which learning
imposes, King Schelim gave more strict orders than ever, that,
provided the young gentlemen only learnt their lessons well, every
whim that came into their heads should be complied with soon as
expressed.
"In spite of all his ingenious arrangements, however, the royal
father did not enjoy the amount of repose he expected. All was quiet
enough during lesson-hours, it is true; but as soon as ever that
period had elapsed, the young princes became as restless as ever.
Nay--the older they grew, the more they wanted, and the less pleased
they became with what was granted.
"From very early days of the tutorship, the old story began:-
"'May it please your Majesty, the young princes, your Majesty's
incomparable sons--may their shadows never be less!--are tired of
their ponies, and want horses instead.'
"The king was a little disappointed at this, and actually laid down
his pipe to talk.
"'Is anything the matter with the ponies?' he asked.
"'May it please your Majesty, no; only that your incomparable sons
call them SLOW.'
"'Spirited lads!' thought the king, quite consoled, and gave the
answer as usual:-
"'Then get them horses instead.' But when only a few days afterwards
he was informed that his incomparable sons had wearied of their
horses, because they also were 'slow,' and wished to ride on
elephants instead, his Majesty began to feel disturbed in mind, and
wonder what would come next, and how it was that the teaching of the
tutors did not make his sons more moderate in their desires.
"'Nevertheless,' said he, 'what saith the proverb, "Thou a man, and
lackest patience?" And again,
"Early ripe, early rotten,
Early wise, soon forgotten."