Once upon a time in a land known as Forsooth there lived a king and queen who ruled over the land. They were benevolent rulers, which meant they were nice to their subjects. The taxes weren’t very high, all those who broke the laws were fairly and justly punished, and few in the kingdom had any complaints.
The King and Queen had two sons -- twins actually. Prince Jack and Prince Sinister. They also had a problem. They had no idea which son was older. There had been a lot of confusion when they were born, two babies at once, that while they thought Prince Jack was the elder, they couldn’t be sure.
While this mihgt not be a problem in many families, it was a problem for this famiy, as the older son, by the laws of the land, would one day be King, and the younger would remain a prince, unless something happened to the older, God forbid.
During the Princes’ 18th year the King became ill and he and the Queen realized it was time to decide who would inherit the crown. The decision wasn’t difficult -- they thought Jack was the oldest, and they also knew jack would make the better King. They loved both their sons equally, of course, but they had seen signs in Prince Sinister they didn’t like.
They required each son to give 10 cents out of every dollar of their allowance to a Royal fund to help those in the kingdom who needed it the most. Sinister always gave the 10 cents, for it was required, but he never seemed happy about it, and would always give it at the end of the week. Jack would often give more than required, and at the beginning of the week ,too.
The castle servants seemed afraid of Sinister. The king had asked a few about it and they had quickly denied any fear, but it was clear he had made them even more nervous, so he didn’t ask any more questions. Once he had placed his hand on one servant’s shoulder, trying to help her relax, and the servant cringed. The King discovered the servant had a large bruise on her shoulder. She claimed she had fallen, but the King suspected otherwise. He tried to convince himself the servant had really fallen. Sinster was the King’s son, and he didn’t want to believe his own son could do what he feared he had done.
On the Princes’ 16th birthday the King and Queen gave their sons each a pet dog. Jack’s had died within a week. They were sure it was an accident. It had to be an accident. They were worried, though, it wasn’t.
So now that the King was ill, they called their sons to a special meeting.
“Jack, Sinister,” their father, the King, began, “You both know I am ill, and I might not make it through the year.”
There were tears in each boy’s eyes. The Queen didn’t want to admit it, but Jack’s looked more real.
“Jack, you will be the next King...”
“Wait!” Sinister interrupted, “All of us know you aren’t sure which one of us was born first, it could have been me.”
“As you say,” the King answered, “It could have been, but since there is doubt, I have to choose which one of you will succeed me as King, and I choose...”
“Your choice doesn’t matter -- this should be God’s decision.”
An ancient tradition in the land allowed a decision of inheritance to be made through a duel. According to the tradition, the victor was the ruler God had chosen. But the Kingdom had abandoned the tradition several generations earlier in favor of granting the first-born the right to the crown. But both the King and Queen knew that since there was doubt, Sinister was justified in asking for a duel.
Sinister was larger and stronger than Jack. The King knew that in a normal duel Sinister was likely to win. That was one reason the Kingdom had abandoned the duel -- since they realized the biggest and strongest didn’t necessarily mean the best able to rule. The King had been prepared for this though.
“As you wish, I will grant you the duel.”
Sinister smiled. Jack frowned, but said nothing for he could tell his father wasn’t finished.
“Tradition, if I am not mistaken,” continued the King, “does give me the responsibility to decide the rules of the duel.”
Sinister laughed. “Go ahead and decide the rules, I can best my brother in any contest.”
Jack looked grim. He feared his brother was correct.
The King smiled, “We shall see if God is truly on your side. My father told me once there was a great treasure on the other end of the Diamond desert. Whichever one of you brings it back to me shall be the next King.”
“But neither will return!” cried the Queen. “Noone has ever crossed the desert and returned.”
“Don’t worry,” said the King, “One will make it back with the treasure.”
The Queen wasn’t sure, and neither were the Princes, but none were willing to further question the King’s decision. Jack and Sinister spent the rest of the afternoon and evening preparing for the journey. Both set off the following morning -- heading for the diamond desert.
Once they left, the King confided in the Queen. “What you said yesterday wasn’t accurate.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“You said noone’s crossed the desert and returned.”
“Someone has?”
“Yes, I did many years ago. I’ve seen the treasure, so I know it exists.”
“But you brought none of it back, did you?”
“I was unable to. It is easy to cross the desert. Once on the other side, the treasure is everywhere. Precious gems lining the streets. But there is a magic spell protecting the gems. When you pick a gem up, a giant appears before you, and won’t allow you to pass with the treasure. However, he give you a choice: either put down the treasure, and return across the desert empty-handed, or keep the treasure, and remain on the other side. Plus, he will grant you one wish if you remain, except your worst enemy will receive double.
“Then neither of our sons will still be able to bring back the treasure as the rules of the duel demand.”
“Not so, I realized my life and family were a much larger treasure waiting here for me. I feel confident Jack will realize this too, and hopefully, if we’re wrong about Sinister, so will he.”
“But if both make the decision, where will we be?”
“If both do, whoever makes it back first will be King. Whover puts family and duty ahead of material possessions is worthy. I will gladly give the crown to Sinister if he earns it.”
The Princes, as their father had predicted, crossed the desert without difficulty. Once they made it to the other side they couldn’t believe their eyes. Diamonds, Gold, Emeralds and other gems lay scattered around. Each took a sack they had brought with them and scooped up as many gems as they could, filling their sacks.
Then the giant appeared.
The Princes gasped in shock.
The giant explained their decision, exactly as the King had remembered.
Sinister looked around and saw all the gems and decided this was a much better land to live in. “I will stay.” Sinister declared.
“What?” Jack shouted in amazement, “What about the Kingdom?”
“You can be King.”
“What about Mom and Dad?”
“They will have to survive with only one Prince. I’m staying.”
Jack shook his head stunned.
“What is your wish?” the giant asked Sinister.
Sinister thought. What besides wealth, which was obviously plentiful here, could he ask for?
“Give me a beautiful slave girl to be my mistress.”
“Your wish is granted,” said the giant. “Now, leave, you will find your mistress waiting for you over the hill.”
Sinister left, and as he disappeared on the other side of the hill, two women appeared next to Jack.
“Who are you?” Jack asked the women.
“We are yours, to do whatever you wish with.” the women said in unison.
“You were the one your brother hated the most,” explained the giant.
To realize how much his own brother hated him brought tears to Jack’s eyes. “Free the slaves, I will not take them with me.” Jack told the giant, as he knew Slavery was wrong.
“Granted, but if you are to return to your land, you must put down your sack of gems, unless I can convince you to stay as well.”
Jack began to put his sack of gems down, but suddenly had an idea, and he smiled broadly. “I’m staying.”
“You are?” smiled the giant, “What’s your wish?”
“Remove my left eye!” shouted Jack.
“Your left eye, I don’t understand?” asked the Giant, confused why anyone would want their eye removed.
“Remove my left eye, that’s my wish.”
The Giant did so, and as he did, he searched Prince Jack’s heart. He realized with horror Jack hated noone, except for the Giant himself. The Giant was locked into the deal and as he felt the onset of blindness screamed in rage.
Jack took the bag of gems and ran into the desert. The Giant unable to stop him since he couldn’t see.
When Jack returned to the castle, the King and Queen realized he was alone.
“Where is your brother, Sinister?” asked the Queen, though she feared she knew the answer.
“He stayed on the other side of the desert, the wealth tempted him too greatly.”
The King and Queen sighed - they had hoped they had been wrong, but they weren’t. The King began to speak, “Years ago I too made the same decision you made, to return. There was a greater treasure here waiting for me...” and then the King saw the bag of gems. “Wait..your sack is full of gems. How?”
Then the Queen noticed Jack’s face. “What happened to your glass eye?”
“I told the Giant to remove it. He soon discovered I hated noone but him.”
“Ahh!” smiled the King, “By showing you lack hate in your heart for anyone in the Kingdom, and by showing great intelligence, you have earned this crown.” He laid the crown on his son’s head, and closed his eyes before drifting off into eternal sleep.
And that’s how one-eyed Jack became King of the Land of Forsooth.
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