“A King lost his kingdom. Everything went wrong—a drought, an epidemic, and then an invasion. His family died, his people were slaughtered, and he had to flee for his life.
On his way to a neighboring kingdom to seek help from a friend, he was captured by robbers and forced into slavery for three years. When he finally escaped and reached his friend’s palace, the guards saw his rags and turned him away. He had to work as a common laborer for a year just to buy a decent robe.
Finally, he stood before his friend, the neighboring King. To his shock, instead of an army or a province, his friend gave him 100 sheep. The fallen King was insulted, but having no choice, he took them. Within a year, wolves had eaten every single sheep.
He went back, and the friend gave him 50 sheep. Soon after, they all fell into a ravine and died. He returned a third time, and the friend gave him only 25 sheep.
This time, something changed. The sheep thrived. They multiplied until he had a flock of 1,000. He went to his friend to boast of his success. The friend immediately stood up and said, ‘Now, I give you back your kingdom. I will give you an army and resources to reclaim your land.’
The fallen King was baffled. ‘Why now? Why did you make me graze sheep for years? Why didn’t you help me at the beginning?’
The wise King replied, ‘Because if I had given you a kingdom then, not a stone would have been left upon a stone. I was simply waiting for your “black moment” to pass. I was waiting for your luck to turn. The sheep were only an indication. Now that you can manage 25 sheep and turn them into a thousand, I know that the cycle of your misfortune is over.’“
Source: Osho, The Wisdom of the Sands (A Sufi parable on the cycles of destiny).
