Fate’s Unyielding Path: The Tale of the King and the Wolf
Once upon a time, a king went hunting and encountered a beautifully marked gazelle. The king shouted, “Surround it! I want to capture it alive!” The king’s men surrounded the gazelle, but it leaped over the king’s head and escaped. The king said, “I’ll pursue it alone. No one follow me!” He mounted his horse, leaned low to its neck, and rode after the gazelle as fast as the wind. But no matter how far he rode, he couldn’t catch up with it. By sunset, the gazelle had vanished from sight.
Exhausted and thirsty, the king dismounted and looked around. The land was barren—no grass, no water, no sign of civilization. He thought to himself, “What should I do in this desert at dusk? How can I find a way to safety and avoid dying of thirst?”
Just then, he noticed a shepherd in the distance, leading a flock of sheep. The king approached him and asked, “Where are you going, my boy?”
The shepherd answered respectfully, “I am taking these sheep back to the village, sir, to return them to their owners.”
The king asked, “Can I accompany you?”
The shepherd replied, “Of course, sir! Please, come along.”
They walked together, and as they neared the village, the villagers noticed a rider coming with the shepherd. The village elder approached and asked the shepherd, “Who is this man, and what is he doing here?”
The shepherd replied, “I don’t know. He seems lost, but God knows.”
The elder looked at the king’s fine attire and gold-trimmed horse and realized that this must be someone important. He went to the king and asked, “Sir, who are you?”
The king replied, “For now, just a stranger. Let me stay the night, and tomorrow you’ll know who I am.”
The elder welcomed him with open arms, saying, “You honor us with your presence. Please, come to my house.”
That evening, the king was given a private room, a proper meal, and a comfortable bed. Later that night, the king woke up and stepped outside to get some fresh air. He saw someone dressed in white standing on the roof. The king thought, “A thief must have come to rob the house. I will catch him and repay the kindness the elder has shown me.”
Quietly, the king climbed the stairs and grabbed the figure, saying, “How dare you come here to steal?”
The man in white replied calmly, “I’m not a thief, and I know who you are.”
The king, startled, asked, “Who am I?”
The man in white answered, “You are the king of this land.”
The king asked, “Then who are you?”
The man replied, “I am an angel, sent by God to write the fates of those born into the world.”
The king asked, “Is there anyone being born here tonight?”
The angel said, “Yes, tonight a son is born to the village elder. This child will grow up to be fortunate and beloved by kings, but on the night of his wedding, a wolf will tear him apart.”
The king said, “I won’t let that happen!”
The angel replied, “We have written his fate; now it is up to you to try and change it.” And with that, the angel disappeared.
The next morning, the elder said to the king, “Your visit has brought us blessings, sir. Last night, God blessed us with a son!”
The king looked at the baby and, seeing how beautiful the child was, said to the elder, “I’ve never had a son. I will pay you a thousand gold coins for him.”
The elder agreed and handed the baby over. The king took the child to the palace, entrusted him to a nurse, and raised him as his own son. Years passed, and the boy grew into a fine young man. As the boy’s eighteenth birthday approached, the king remembered the angel’s warning. Determined to protect the boy, the king ordered the construction of seven fortified rooms, each with steel doors, and the bridal chamber to be placed at the center.
On the day of the boy’s eighteenth birthday, the king arranged for his daughter to marry the young man. After the ceremony, the couple was sent to the secured bridal chamber. The palace was surrounded by armed guards, and the king gave strict orders, “Do not sleep, and if anything approaches the bridal chamber, kill it immediately.”
Inside the bridal chamber, the boy began to pray. His bride, feeling bored, found a piece of wax in her pocket and started shaping it into various forms—a mouse, then a cat, and finally a wolf. Satisfied with the wolf, she left it by the candle and watched it.
Suddenly, the wax wolf began to move. The bride watched in shock as it grew larger, finally becoming a real wolf. The wolf howled and pounced on the boy, tearing him apart before breaking through the steel door and running out of the room.
Hearing the noise, the king rushed to the bridal chamber. He found the boy lying in a pool of blood and saw the lifeless wolf in the courtyard, killed by the guards. The king, frantic, turned to the guards and said, “Didn’t I tell you to kill anything that approached the chamber? How did this happen?”
The guards replied, “Your Majesty, the wolf didn’t come from outside—it came from within.”
The king, enraged, turned to his daughter and demanded, “Tell me the truth! Where did this wolf come from?”
The daughter tearfully explained what had happened. After hearing her story, the king sighed deeply and said, “Indeed, fate cannot be changed. All our efforts were in vain.”
He took his daughter’s hand and led her out of the bridal chamber, saying, “God’s will cannot be resisted, and no one can stand in the way of destiny.”
Moral of the Story
Despite all our efforts, some things are simply beyond our control. While human actions matter, there are moments when we must accept the inevitability of fate and trust in God’s wisdom, which governs the course of our lives.
Once upon a time, a king went hunting and encountered a beautifully marked gazelle. The king shouted, “Surround it! I want to cait alive!” The king’s men surrounded the gazelle, but it leaped over the king’s head and escaped. The king said, “I’ll pursue it alone. No one follow me!” He mounted his horse, leaned low to its neck, and rode after the gazelle as fast as the wind. But no matter how far he rode, he couldn’t catch up with it. By sunset, the gazelle had vanished from sight.
Exhausted and thirsty, the king dismounted and looked around. The land was barren—no grass, no water, no sign of civilization. He thought to himself, “What should I do in this desert at dusk? How can I find a way to safety and avoid dying of thirst?”
Just then, he noticed a shepherd in the distance, leading a flock of sheep. The king approached him and asked, “Where are you going, my boy?”
The shepherd answered respectfully, “I am taking these sheep back to the village, sir, to return them to their owners.”
The king asked, “Can I accompany you?”
The shepherd replied, “Of course, sir! Please, come along.”
They walked together, and as they neared the village, the villagers noticed a rider coming with the shepherd. The village elder approached and asked the shepherd, “Who is this man, and what is he doing here?”
The shepherd replied, “I don’t know. He seems lost, but God knows.”
The elder looked at the king’s fine attire and gold-trimmed horse and realized that this must be someone important. He went to the king and asked, “Sir, who are you?”
The king replied, “For now, just a stranger. Let me stay the night, and tomorrow you’ll know who I am.”
The elder welcomed him with open arms, saying, “You honor us with your presence. Please, come to my house.”
That evening, the king was given a private room, a proper meal, and a comfortable bed. Later that night, the king woke up and stepped outside to get some fresh air. He saw someone dressed in white standing on the roof. The king thought, “A thief must have come to rob the house. I will catch him and repay the kindness the elder has shown me.”
Quietly, the king climbed the stairs and grabbed the figure, saying, “How dare you come here to steal?”
The man in white replied calmly, “I’m not a thief, and I know who you are.”
The king, startled, asked, “Who am I?”
The man in white answered, “You are the king of this land.”
The king asked, “Then who are you?”
The man replied, “I am an angel, sent by God to write the fates of those born into the world.”
The king asked, “Is there anyone being born here tonight?”
The angel said, “Yes, tonight a son is born to the village elder. This child will grow up to be fortunate and beloved by kings, but on the night of his wedding, a wolf will tear him apart.”
The king said, “I won’t let that happen!”
The angel replied, “We have written his fate; now it is up to you to try and change it.” And with that, the angel disappeared.
The next morning, the elder said to the king, “Your visit has brought us blessings, sir. Last night, God blessed us with a son!”
The king looked at the baby and, seeing how beautiful the child was, said to the elder, “I’ve never had a son. I will pay you a thousand gold coins for him.”
The elder agreed and handed the baby over. The king took the child to the palace, entrusted him to a nurse, and raised him as his own son. Years passed, and the boy grew into a fine young man. As the boy’s eighteenth birthday approached, the king remembered the angel’s warning. Determined to protect the boy, the king ordered the construction of seven fortified rooms, each with steel doors, and the bridal chamber to be placed at the center.
On the day of the boy’s eighteenth birthday, the king arranged for his daughter to marry the young man. After the ceremony, the couple was sent to the secured bridal chamber. The palace was surrounded by armed guards, and the king gave strict orders, “Do not sleep, and if anything approaches the bridal chamber, kill it immediately.”
Inside the bridal chamber, the boy began to pray. His bride, feeling bored, found a piece of wax in her pocket and started shaping it into various forms—a mouse, then a cat, and finally a wolf. Satisfied with the wolf, she left it by the candle and watched it.
Suddenly, the wax wolf began to move. The bride watched in shock as it grew larger, finally becoming a real wolf. The wolf howled and pounced on the boy, tearing him apart before breaking through the steel door and running out of the room.
Hearing the noise, the king rushed to the bridal chamber. He found the boy lying in a pool of blood and saw the lifeless wolf in the courtyard, killed by the guards. The king, frantic, turned to the guards and said, “Didn’t I tell you to kill anything that approached the chamber? How did this happen?”
The guards replied, “Your Majesty, the wolf didn’t come from outside—it came from within.”
The king, enraged, turned to his daughter and demanded, “Tell me the truth! Where did this wolf come from?”
The daughter tearfully explained what had happened. After hearing her story, the king sighed deeply and said, “Indeed, fate cannot be changed. All our efforts were in vain.”
He took his daughter’s hand and led her out of the bridal chamber, saying, “God’s will cannot be resisted, and no one can stand in the way of destiny.”
Moral of the Story
Despite all our efforts, some things are simply beyond our control. While human actions matter, there are moments when we must accept the inevitability of fate and trust in God’s wisdom, which governs the course of our lives.
