Bedtime stories for kids - A Hole in the Throne

A Hole in the Throne



In a certain town in ancient Israel lived a poor young man called David. His wife knew the art of making tasteful sweet meats. David sold the sweet meats hawking them in different areas of the town. One day he entered a lane which he had never visited before. A little boy played before a lovely mansion. David offered him a sweet and the boy relished it so much that he gave out a cry of joy. That attracted his nurse's attention. She paid David the price of the sweet. David came there the next day too and sold a few sweets to the boy who was the son of a wealthy landlord. Soon it became a regular practice with David. He visited the lane daily. The boy continued to buy his sweets. One afternoon, before David had reached the landlord's mansion, a servant of the neighboring house cajoled him to come and meet his master. David was led to the presence of an old man who lay on a divan and looked rich.

The old man picked up a sweet from David's basket and threw it into his mouth. "Excellent!" he exclaimed. And he paid David a gold mohur. David was so surprised that he could not speak. The old man laughed and said, "Surprised with one mohur, eh? I shall give you fifty if you obey me!" "What is your order?" asked David growing curious. The old man did not put it straight. He hemmed and hawed and in many words put forth a sinister proposal. David should mix a deadly poison in a sweet and pass it on to the landlord's son. The old man was the landlord's enemy. David shuddered with annoyance. "Sorry," he said, "I cannot do such a thing." "Not even for a hundred gold mohurs?" asked the old man with a sneer. "Not even for a thousand!" answered David. "I see," smiled the old man as he patted David on the back. "Young man, I praise your honesty. But I must say that you are talking like a fool. You are not killing the boy! I am doing it. You are only acting as my servant for price. Think again. I promise you two thousand gold mohurs. This is my last bid." "No, no, no!" shouted David with vehemence and he stood up. "Then you die!" said the old man calmly. "I cannot let you leave my house once you have known my mind." At the old man's order his servants took hold of David and locked him in a room on the roof. David wept and cursed his captor. But the stone walls showed him no sympathy.


Slowly it grew dark. Desperately David climbed to the small opening the room had like a skylight and peeped out. Suddenly the stone under his hands gave away, thanks to the old age of the building. The opening became big enough for him to escape from the dungeon into the terrace. But what next? All was dark. He could not make out how very high the terrace was. Even then he took a risk. He jumped down. He had little idea that he was jumping from the fourth floor! He would have fallen to his death had it not been for a cart loaded with hay that happened to be parked on the road. He dropped on the hay and after a little while, ran along the road that led to his house on the other end of the town. His wife anxiously waiting for him. "What made you so late? What happened to your sweet basket?" asked the lady. "Thank god that I have returned alive!" said David and he narrated his bizarre encounter with the old man. Tears streaming down her cheeks, his wife thanked god again and again, first of all for her husband's honest and courage, and then for his providential escape. It was the practice with David to buy some flour at the end of the day, with his day's earning. His wife prepared a loaf and they shared it. But that day not only had David failed to bring the flour, but also he had forfeited his basked to the wicked old man. "We must go without food tonight." David told his wife. "But I must light our oven. Otherwise our neighbors will think that we have nothing to cook," said the lady and she lighted the oven.


A few minutes later a woman from the neighborhood came to their house for a firebrand. "Take from the oven," said David's wife. The woman went in and shouted, "What a lovely loaf! But it is already ripe for taking out!" Greatly surprised, David and his wife rushed into their kitchen. Indeed, the loaf that lay baked on their oven was something the like of which they had never seen! It was big and of enticing color. The flavor it gave out was delightful. After the woman of the neighborhood was gone, David and his wife looked at each other. They sat down to offer their gratitude to God for the miracle. Then they enjoyed the most delicious loaf. "How kind is God! He saved you from death and gave us food too!" observed David's wife. "Indeed, and how happy I shall be if God gives me wealth!" said David. "Is he not giving us what is good for us even without asking for it? Why should we demand anything?" asked his wife. "Well, if I got something precious say a ruby.." David had not ended his sentence when plop came down a ruby from the roof! It was as big as it was luminous. David sat speechless with ecstasy. A long time passed. "Let us pray and go to sleep," he said at last. No sooner had they fallen asleep than David's wife dreamed that she was in heaven. At one place she saw many beautiful thrones arranged in a fine array. "Who will occupy these thrones?" she asked an angel . "The brave and the just ones of the earth," answered the angel. "Is that so? In that case a throne must have been reserved for my husband!" she observed shyly.


"There it is!" said the angel pointing at one of the thrones. A close look at the throne showed that it had a hole in its seat. "Why has my husband's throne got a hole?" she queried. "It is the ruby that made the hole. It fell cutting through it!" replied the angel. The lady woke up. She shook David up and narrated her dream to him. David reflected on it for a long time. "I realize that it was foolish of me to demand a ruby from God. I wish it went back to its source!" So saying David hurled the ruby upward. It disappeared. In the morning he thought it is wise to go and warn the landlord against the old man's murderous design. But while passing the old man's house he saw a crowd. The old man had died at night. In fact, he had died of shock at the discovery that his prisoner has escaped! Even then David informed the landlord what had happened. The landlord was so happy that he rewarded him with ten thousand gold mohurs. David and his wife lived happily and lived long.

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