Monday, April 6, 2015

E is for Empty

Sometimes we work hard and come up empty.  Sometimes it’s meant to be that way.

“The Empty Pot” is a Chinese story about hard work, trying to please someone else, and honestly being yourself.

The Emperor was old; he had no heir.  And so he devised a plan to find the smartest boy in China to take his place when he died.  Because he loved plants, the Emperor sent out a proclamation stating: “Any boy who wants to be king come to the palace to receive one royal seed. Whichever boy can show the best results within six months wins the contest and becomes the next to wear the crown.”

Every boy in China fancied he could win.  People who knew boys who grew wonderful plants thought their son, brother, friend, kid down the street would win, and they would be guests at the palace.

Such a boy was Jun, he grew the best vegetables in his village.  He could always be found in his garden caring for the plants.  Carefully Jun carried home the royal seed.  He planted it after preparing a large pot with good drainage and rich soil.  Each day he waited for the baby plant to appear.  But to no avail.

Other boys in Jun’s village announced their seeds were growing.  But still nothing sprouted in Jun’s pot.  More and more boys reported their seeds were growing.  Jun repotted his seed, yet it still lay dormant and did not grow.

After six months it was time for the boys to take their plants to the Emperor.  Jun was ashamed that nothing had grown in his pot.  He asked his parents, “What should I do?”

His parents answered, “Take your pot to the Emperor.  You did the best you could.”

So shamefaced Jun took his empty pot and walked to the palace amid the other boys whose pots sprouted all manner of strong healthy plants.  In the courtyard the boys lined up in rows.  Then the Emperor, dressed in fine silks, strode out of the palace.  He looked at all the fine plants with a scowl on his face.  When he got to Jun, he stared at the empty pot before asking, “What is this, you’ve brought me an empty pot?  Where’s the plant you were supposed to grow?”

Jun hung his head and answered in a small voice, “I am sorry Your Majesty.  I did the best I could.  I planted your seed in good soil, the best I could find.  I watered it enough to keep the soil moist but not wet.  Every day I looked for the seed to sprout.  When it did not grow, I repotted the seed in new soil and then did it all over again a third time.  But it just won’t grow.  I’m sorry.”
“Hmmm,” replied the Emperor.  Then turning toward the crowd he thundered, “I am not sure where all these other boys got their seeds.  The seeds we passed out for the contest were cooked; so NOTHING could have grown from them!”

Then he smiled at Jun.
Who do you think became the next Emperor?



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hopefully the other boys got prizes for being creative.

Good luck with the challenge.

Best from Heidi in Norway

Sheila Arnold said...

Julie, I really like that story. Is it one you wrote a folktale? I'd like to tell it as well. Thanks for sharing. Peace, sheila.

Stories by Julie said...

Heidi and Sheila, thanks for stopping by.
Heidi, this is a folktale; so I imagine you could change the ending in any way you'd like. If you tell it and want the boys to have prizes for creativity - go for it.
Sheila, As far as I know this is a folktale. The website I found it on promotes it as such. There is a picture book by Demi of this story, but it's not exactly the same as the one I posted. Good luck.

Michele at Angels Bark said...

Bravo! I love this story. Goes to show you how many people cheat to get ahead. Great post. I really liked the story.
Happy A-Zing...
Michele at Angels Bark

Anonymous said...

Good reminder for those times when things don't seem to be working . . . Thanks!

Anonymous said...

loved it, reminded me of the story where everybody pours a jug of water instead of milk in a pond, thinking that they would never be caught.... until in the morning, the pool of supposed milk, glistened clear as water in the morning sun ! modhukori/Erica

Tamara Narayan said...

That is a great story for honesty. Thanks for sharing.

Stories by Julie said...

Thanks. It's a good story for the world today.

Stories by Julie said...

Yes the story lends itself to that lesson.

Stories by Julie said...

I don't know this story. What's the title of it?

Stories by Julie said...

Glad you enjoyed it!

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www.StoriesByJulie.com