AN OLD BEGGAR    - An old story

After what he had done for the Prince the King was satisfied that his son would follow his footsteps and become a king later. He ordered a high wall to be built round the Palace including the park. But the Prince was not happy in this palace living like a prisoner. One day he told his father. "Father I must go out of the palace gate and see how other people live."

"Very well, my son." said the king, "you shall go outside the palace wall to see how people live in my city. But first I must prepare things, so that all would be good and proper for my noble son's visit."

When the people had decorated the city the king said "Now you can go, my dear son, and see the city as you please.*

As the young Prince was going through the streets, all of a sudden, from a small old hut beside the road, out came an old man with long silver gray hair, wearing very old torn, dirty rags. The skin of his face was all dried up and wrinkled. His sunken eyes were dim and he was almost blind. There was no teeth in his mouth. He stood up trembling all over almost bent double holding a stick, and he did this with two skinny hands to save himself from falling. The old beggar dragged himself along the street paying no attention to all the gay people around him. He was speaking very feebly, begging people around him to give him food as he would die the very day if he had nothing to eat. The Prince saw the old man. He did not know what he was looking at as that was the first time in his life that he saw an old man of this type.

"What is that, Chana?" he asked his driver. "That really cannot be a man! Why is he all bent? What is he trembling for? Why is his hair silver gray, not black like mine ? What is wrong with his eyes ? Where are his teeth? Is this how some men are born? Tell me, O, good Chana, what does this mean?

Chana told the Prince, that it was an old man but he was not born like that. "When young he was like us and now due to his old age he has become like this." He told the Prince to forget this man. But the prince was not satisfied.

"Everyone in the world, if he lives long enough becomes like this man. It cannot be stopped." said Chana.

The Prince ordered him to drive back home at once as he was very sad, and wanted to think carefully about that terrible thing called old age; as, a prince and others must one day grow old weak and sad and none could stop old age. Although one is rich, great and powerful

That night there was a grand Royal treat for the prince He was not interested or happy at all during the dinner and dance. He was thinking all the time. "Some day you will all grow old, everyone of you, even the prettiest."

He could not sleep when the time came. He was in bed thinking that one day, everyone would grow old, gray, wrinkled, toothless and ugly like that old beggar. He wanted to know if anyone had found a way to stop this horrible thing - old age.

The king, when he heard this story, was very sad and worried and was thinking whether this would make his son leave the palace. So he told his attendants to put on more dances and dinners. But the prince begged his father to allow him to see Kapilavatthu on an ordinary day without the people being told of his visit.

Written by Sanjula kavinda.