I first heard the following story as a child from a friend's dad. I have found it very inspiring in dealing with many of my ups and downs in life and I hope that you too might find it useful.
The story is about a very rich king who lived in a big palace built with thatched roof. He owned several horses and a dog.
The king was blessed with a rare gift which enabled him to understand the language of the dogs. He used this skill to secretly listen to many of the conversations his dog had with other dogs that visited from the neighbourhood.
One evening, as the king was walking around his garden, he noticed that his dog was barking in a very unusual way. In their hush conversation, his dog told the other dogs that the king's favourite horse was about to die. They all knew how much the king loved that particular horse. He regularly rode on the horse around the neighbourhood as a mark of his wealth. It was also the one he liked to ride on during royal occasions.
The dog said the only thing the king could do to avert the death of his horse was to sell it within seven days.
When the king heard this, he went back to his palace and the following day, the king arranged and got his favourite horse sold and made a huge profit.
Several days later, the king was again in his garden when his dog started to bark. When asked what the problem was, the dog said in seven days, the kings palace would be flooded, swept away and destroyed completely and that the king could only avert the impending disaster by building a moat around his palace.
The moment the king heard this, he quickly arranged for a wide moat to be constructed around his palace.
A few days passed, the dog began to bark histerically telling the other dogs that the king's palace would soon be burnt down and the king could not stop the fire unless he removed a bundle of thatch from the roof of his palace.
The king wasted no time and got his servants to remove a bundle of thatch from the roof of his palace.
Nine days after, the animals gathered again. This time, they were all in distress. It was highly unusual and it continued relentlessly for a long period. They were conversing in hush tones. Their emotions were high. The king came out of his palace and moved very close so that he could hear what the dog had to say this time. After a long wait, the kind heard the god telling the other animals that the king's death was imminent and that there was nothing he could do to prevent his death within the next seven days.
As the dog was still speaking, the other dogs started to cry. They all loved the king so much. None of them wanted him to die because he took good care of them. They all asked the dog if there was anything they, the king or any of them could do to avert the King's death. They all wanted to help safe the king's life but the matter was beyond them.
The king sprang out of his palatial seat and started to beg the dog for help to spare his life.
The dog was shocked and petrified. He could not belief that the king understood dog's language.
The dog stepped forward, stood in front of the king and bowed down before him in reverence. He explained that if he knew that king understood the language of dogs and could communicate with them, he would have advised him to let his favourite horse die, instead of selling it; to let the palace be flooded instead of building the moat to safe it; and to let the palace burn down instead of removing one bundle of thatch from the roof. "All of those things", said the dog "were meant to happen in order to save the life of the king."
We may not understand the language of dogs but the God creator of all things does have a purpose for our life.
What lessons could we possibly learn from this story on how we understand and respond to each of our misfortunes in every event that crosses our way as the ending of one event triggers the beginning of another in the endless cycle of our journey in life?
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