In the Far East the There was once an There was once an Emperor from China who had no children and needed to choose a successor.
Thousands of children from across the kingdom came to the palace and were surprised when the Emperor exclaimed that he was going to choose one of them. He gave them all a seed. They were to go home to their villages, plant the seed in a pot and tend it for a year. When they return in a year, the Emperor would judge their efforts and choose his successor.
There was a boy named Ling who received his seed and returned to his village.
His mother helped him to choose a pot and put some soil into it.
Ling watered his pot every day.
Once a week, the children of the village would get together to compare their plants. After a few weeks, there were signs of life in all but Ling’s pot.
The weeks passed and Ling continued to water his pot every day.
After a few months, the pots really came to life. Some had trees starting to grow, some had flowers and some had leafy shrubs. Poor old Ling still had nothing growing in his pot, leading the other children to make fun of him.
Ling continued to water his pot every day.
A year passed and it was time to return to the palace to show what had grown and decide on the new heir.
Ling was anxious as his pot still showed no signs of life. “What if they punish me? They won’t know that I’ve watered it every day, they’ll think that I’m lazy.”
His mother looked him in the eye and explained that whatever the consequences were, he had to return and show the Emperor his barren pot.
Ling and the other children entered the palace gates. By now, some of the plants were looking magnificent and the children were wondering which one the Emperor would choose.
Ling was embarrassed as other children looked at his lifeless pot and scoffed.
The Emperor came out and started to make his way through the crowd, looking at the many impressive trees, shrubs and flowers that were on display. The boys all puffed their chests out and tried to look as regal as possible, hoping that they would be chosen as the heir to the empire.
Then the Emperor came to Ling. He looked at the pot then he looked at Ling.
“What happened here?” He asked.
“I watered the pot every day, but nothing ever grew.” Ling muttered nervously.
Then he grumbled something to himself and moved on.
After a few hours, the Emperor finally finished his assessment.
He stood in front of the children and congratulated them on their efforts.
“Clearly, some of you desperately want to be Emperor and would do anything to make that happen, but there is one boy that I would like to point out as he has come to me with nothing. Ling, come here please.”
“Oh no,” thought Ling. He slowly sauntered to the front of the group, holding his barren pot.
The Emperor held up the pot for all to see and the other children laughed. Then the Emperor continued, “A year ago, I gave you all a seed. I told you to go away, plant the seed and return with your plant. The seeds that I gave you all were boiled until they were no longer viable and wouldn’t grow, but I see before me thousands of plants and only one barren pot. Integrity and courage are more important values for leadership than proud displays, so Ling here will be my heir.” from China who had no children and needed to choose a successor.
Thousands of children from across the kingdom came to the palace and were surprised when the Emperor exclaimed that he was going to choose one of them. He gave them all a seed. They were to go home to their villages, plant the seed in a pot and tend it for a year. When they return in a year, the Emperor would judge their efforts and choose his successor.
There was a boy named Ling who received his seed and returned to his village.
His mother helped him to choose a pot and put some soil into it.
Ling watered his pot every day.
Once a week, the children of the village would get together to compare their plants. After a few weeks, there were signs of life in all but Ling’s pot.
The weeks passed and Ling continued to water his pot every day.
After a few months, the pots really came to life. Some had trees starting to grow, some had flowers and some had leafy shrubs. Poor old Ling still had nothing growing in his pot, leading the other children to make fun of him.
Ling continued to water his pot every day.
A year passed and it was time to return to the palace to show what had grown and decide on the new heir.
Ling was anxious as his pot still showed no signs of life. “What if they punish me? They won’t know that I’ve watered it every day, they’ll think that I’m lazy.”
His mother looked him in the eye and explained that whatever the consequences were, he had to return and show the Emperor his barren pot.
Ling and the other children entered the palace gates. By now, some of the plants were looking magnificent and the children were wondering which one the Emperor would choose.
Ling was embarrassed as other children looked at his lifeless pot and scoffed.
The Emperor came out and started to make his way through the crowd, looking at the many impressive trees, shrubs and flowers that were on display. The boys all puffed their chests out and tried to look as regal as possible, hoping that they would be chosen as the heir to the empire.
Then the Emperor came to Ling. He looked at the pot then he looked at Ling.
“What happened here?” He asked.
“I watered the pot every day, but nothing ever grew.” Ling muttered nervously.
Then he grumbled something to himself and moved on.
After a few hours, the Emperor finally finished his assessment.
He stood in front of the children and congratulated them on their efforts.
“Clearly, some of you desperately want to be Emperor and would do anything to make that happen, but there is one boy that I would like to point out as he has come to me with nothing. Ling, come here please.”
“Oh no,” thought Ling. He slowly sauntered to the front of the group, holding his barren pot.
The Emperor held up the pot for all to see and the other children laughed. Then the Emperor continued, “A year ago, I gave you all a seed. I told you to go away, plant the seed and return with your plant. The seeds that I gave you all were boiled until they were no longer viable and wouldn’t grow, but I see before me thousands of plants and only one barren pot. Integrity and courage are more important values for leadership than proud displays, so Ling here will be my heir.” was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided to do something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, ""It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The children were shocked, but the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today--one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor."
One boy, named Ling, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it, carefully. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Ling didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by--still nothing in Ling's pot.
He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But his mother asked him to be honest about what happened.
Ling felt sick at his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful--in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other children laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey, nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today one of you will be appointed the next emperor!"
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. He thought, "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!"
Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?
Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds that would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
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