The king forgives his enemy

Two kings fought a battle. The victor said to the vanquished, “Now that I have conquered you, I can do anything I want to with your life. Tell me what you would have done if you had conquered me.”

The other king said, “I would have killed you immediately.”

The first king said, “You would have killed me immediately? So now that I have conquered you, what do you expect from me?”

The other king said, “If you were a businessman, I would expect you to sell me to some rich man and get some money. If you were a butcher, I would expect you to kill me. But you are neither a businessman nor a butcher. I feel that you are a very kind-hearted man. If this is true, then naturally you will forgive me.”

The first king said, “Whether I am a kind-hearted man or not, at least for today I want to be kind-hearted. So I am forgiving you and giving you back your throne. Only remember that I am stronger than you. I am physically stronger than you, and my army is stronger than yours. So don’t disturb me anymore.”