This week, I want to share my version of a traditional story that I learned from Margret Silf in her book One Wisdom Stories from around the World.

A king had three daughters. Wondering which of them should inherit the rule of the land, he decided to set them a test. He told his steward to call them to the throne room, one at a time.

When the first arrived, he told her he was going on a long journey. His steward would manage the kingdom while he was gone, but he had a precious gift for her to cherish while he was gone. She protested his absence, declared how much she would miss him, then accepted the box that held the gift.

Leaving the throne room, she tore the lid of the box. Lying on a bed of blue silk lay a single grain of rice. She picked it up and studied it to figure out what was so special about it. There was nothing. It was an ordinary grain of rice.

I shouldn't excuse her for what she did, but perhaps she was really sad that her father was going away. Or perhaps she was angry that the steward would hold his place. Whatever the reason...

When the first daughter decided it was truly an ordinary grain of rice, she threw it away and went back to her business.

The steward brought the second daughter to her father who explained the situation. She too protested his absence, declared how much she would miss him, then accepted the box that held the gift.

When she left the throne room she pulled open the box and found a single grain of rice. Picking it up she studied it. It seemed like just a simple grain of rice. She could see no aspect of it that was special, but her father had told her to cherish it. She thought hard, then hurried to the court jeweler. She ordered him to set it in crystal and hang it on a woven gold chain. When the beautiful pendant was made, she wore it every day, kept it beside her at night, ready.

When the third daughter came to the throne room, she learned her father was going away. She received the gift with a tear in her eye. Outside the room, she lifted the lid of the box and found a grain of rice. She frowned at it, then carried it to her room. She left the open box on her dresser for several days, wondering what her father meant by the gift.

A week later, she came to a decision. From the royal gardener, she received a pot and earth. She planted the rice and placed the pot on her window ledge, tending it every day. it sprouted, grew, flourished. When time, she harvested the grain and planted it.

The king was gone some years, travelled far, learned a great deal about the world beyond his borders. When he returned he sent the steward to bring his daughters with the gift he had left in their hands.

When the first daughter received the news, she panicked. What gift? Remembering, she ran to the kitchen and demanded a grain of rice from the cook. Carrying it on her palm, she went to her father.

"I have returned," he said. "Where is the gift I left in your care?"

"You were missed father, and your return is welcome. Here is your gift." She handed him the grain of rice.

"Thank you, my daughter," was all he said.

The second walked proudly into the room, and when asked the same question, she pulled out the pendant and laid it in his hand. When he looked surprised, she explained that the grain of rice was enclosed in the crystal. "Thank you, my daughter," was all he said.

The third daughter walked slowly to the throne room, but greeted her father warmly. His face looked stern when he asked for the gift.

"I do not have it." Though his frown deepened, she continued, "but if you look out the window, you will see a field of green. That rice grew from the single grain you left in my care. There is enough to feed many."

"Thank you, my daughter. You shall rule this kingdom after me." And when she did, the kingdom flourished like a tended field of rice.
Cathy Hird is a farmer, minister, and writer living near Walters Falls.