Shon Mehta

Illustration for  The Scholar and the King  by Shon Mehta Once there lived a great scholar. In the course of his travels, he chanced to visit a distant kingdom. Seeing the respect the scholar commanded, the king was impressed. He thought that if the scholar stays in his kingdom, it will increase its prestige in the lands. So he invited the scholar to his palace, and asked whether he would like to stay. “I only stay at places where freedom is valued,” the scholar replied.“Of course,” said the king. “Come with me for a tour of the capital, and see for yourself how much we value freedom.” As they left the palace, they came across a group of people. On seeing their king, they started dancing vigorously. “See,” the king exclaimed, “See how happy the people are in my kingdom! They are celebrating their freedom by dancing.” “What tune are they dancing to?” the scholar asked. “I can’t hear any music.” “Oh, I don’t like music.” the king informed. “As long as you don’t play music, you w...