How the King Found His Destiny
(A Fairy Tale More for Adults)
Once upon a time, King Casimir was staying in Lesko. He liked the area very much, so he explored it thoroughly. He left his companions in town and wandered on horseback through the forests and mountains.
One day, he went to Sokole on the San River. It was already afternoon when a fog, thick as milk, suddenly descended. The king lost his way and began to wander.
"Hop, hop!" he called, hoping someone would hear him, but no one answered.
He headed left, then right, until suddenly the fog cleared and the king saw that he was in a forest clearing, before a palace so magnificent the world had never seen its like. The palace had a hundred towers, a hundred windows, and a hundred cloisters, surrounded by wonderful gardens. Casimir was astonished, for although he was a king, he had never heard of this palace.
"I wonder who lives there," he thought, but, being wise, he was cautious, so he turned back to the forest. He rode half a mile, a thick fog descended upon him again, and when it cleared, the king found himself standing on the road to Lesko.
Everyone in town was delighted with the ruler's return. The king recounted his adventure and then summoned his ministers to a secret meeting.
"Why didn't anyone tell me about this palace before? Who lives there, and where is it located?" he asked irritably.
The Minister of Geography spoke first. The minister also knew nothing about the mysterious place, but then he was the Minister of Geography, to know such things, even if he knew nothing about them.
"Considering the circumstances, the palace must be on the side opposite the south, that is, on the north side, because that's the only side facing south," he explained convolutedly, tracing his finger along the map he had hung on the wall.
"I disagree with the Minister of Geography! The palace is definitely in the south," the Minister of War declared with feigned calm but firmness.
The Minister of War also knew nothing about the palace, but then again, he was the Minister of War to disagree with the Minister of Geography. It was obvious that if he agreed with him, he should be the Minister of Geography himself, and the king didn't need two Ministers of Geography, so as Minister of War, he simply had to have a different opinion.
The Minister of Forests had no understanding of maps at all and associated midnight with the middle of the night and noon with midday, but he always spoke up so as not to give reason for his dismissal by remaining silent.
"Somehow, those who preceded me have overlooked that His Majesty arrived at the palace in the evening. So let's not talk about midnight or noon, but rather about sunset," he declared triumphantly, looking contemptuously at the Ministers of War and Geography.
"Nothing of the sort," declared the Minister of Good Impressions. "Our King is a supporter of democracy, so the matter should be resolved by referendum. That is the duty of my ministry. I have already made the appropriate preparations." With this, he bowed deeply before his Lord and Master.
Listening to the ministers' voices, the king doubted whether the mystery would ever be solved.
"If the wisest officials cannot solve the riddle, then who could?" he sighed and closed the meeting.
Worried, he hid in the privacy of his chamber and continued to ponder the matter. Then the starost of Lesko told him about a certain hermit.
The hermit was very old and lived in a cave near Dukla. He was very wise, devoted to meditation, and in his free time wrote a thousand-and-one-page work, "On the Nature and Need of Hermitage." He hid the manuscript under a large stone in the forest near Folusz, to prevent it from being stolen by greedy printers from Krosno or even Jasło. The King ordered it to be brought to the castle immediately.
When the guards arrived at the cave, the hermit was cooking.
"His Majesty, King Casimir, commands you to appear before him immediately," ordered the Commander of the Guards.
If he were a poet or a musician, he would have addressed the hermit in verse or song, but since he was the Commander of the Guards, he could only issue orders.
"And why didn't he come here himself, if it's so urgent?" the hermit replied calmly, without pausing in his cooking.
At these words, the Commander of the Guards became furious and drew his sword from its sheath.
"How dare you!" he shouted. "If you don't come with us immediately, I'll cut off your leg or even your head. "
The hermit, however, was unafraid and replied calmly.
"It's not the first time that violence proves to be the sister of stupidity." If you cut off my leg, you'll have to carry me on your back. And if I'm left without a head, you'll incur the wrath of your lord, who probably wants to see me alive. So, if it's even necessary, if I were you, I'd cut off something entirely different.
"Indeed, it's better not to decide on the cutting yourself," the Commander of the Guards thought, something that rarely happened, and pushed the messenger to Lesko for further orders.
When the king learned of everything, he immediately ordered the Commander of the Guards not to cut anything, but to politely invite the hermit to the castle.
"Oh, that's different," the hermit replied when the royal reply arrived. "I can't refuse this, as I don't want to cause your lord any distress."
When the hermit appeared before the king, Casimir first apologized for his servant's behavior and offered him dinner.
The guest smacked his lips at the table with delight, but the king hadn't eaten or drank anything and was rather sad, so the hermit looked at his host with concern.
"Why are you so moody?" he asked, gnawing on a leg of deer.
"Oh, because I'm tired of the vapors," the king replied, grimacing nastily.
"It's a pity, because it's not dinner, but a foretaste of paradise.
" "Ugh, there... the food was so-so. They usually serve it like that at my table," the king said in a bored voice.
"Exactly. And consider how much you're missing out on. If you ate unleavened bread every day, you'd have heaven in your mouth now, not acid in your stomach. Too much pleasure is more tiring than hardship."
They chatted for a while longer, until the king finally got down to business and presented the hermit with the matter. The hermit listened attentively and said,
"You can't find something on a map that isn't there." So your ministers argued in vain. Let's put the map aside, and to find the palace, you have to get lost.
"Get lost?" the king asked, astonished.
"That's right! You have to take the same route you took then. And you yourself say you got lost before you found the palace."
The king was astonished by this simple advice.
The next day, they both set off towards Sokole. They quickly reached the place where the fog had first descended.
"It's here," the king pointed to the spot.
"Excellent," the hermit said. "We don't have fog, but there are ways around that."
He stood the king in front of him and blindfolded him with a cloth. Then he twirled him around several times and ordered him to walk forward a thousand steps.
"Don't remove the cloth until you've done the thousandth," he admonished.
The king did as the hermit instructed and meandered forward. Finally, he counted the thousandth step and removed the cloth from his eyes. He found himself standing in a forest clearing again, the fog clearing around him, and the palace towers emerging from the thick fog in the sunlight.
"We did it, we did it!" he exclaimed with delight and set off towards the palace.
As he approached, he saw a crowd of servants milling about, all welcoming him as if he were an acquaintance. They immediately led him to the main chamber, and imagine his surprise when he stood before a maiden of wondrous beauty.
"Who are you, my lady?" he whispered in astonishment.
The stranger smiled mysteriously.
"It's true that you came to me, but I found you. And even if you left here immediately, I still wouldn't abandon you. So guess who I am.
" "You're a lucky charm," the king frowned. "It's a very difficult riddle, and I don't even have a crown on my head."
The crown was heavy, painfully pressing against his temples, and did not aid his thinking at all. However, the king had learned more than once that even if he uttered some foolish thing while wearing it, there were always willing philosophers who would muddle everything up and transform the most absurdities into pure wisdom. Therefore, without a crown, the king avoided all disputes and provided his ministers with golden chains, which they had to wear around their necks while in office.
The king began to think things through. He speculated, now and then, sweating, turning red and pale by turns, but he couldn't come up with anything.
"I've had enough of this, and I'm going back to Lesko," he finally said, irritated.
The maiden, as if she hadn't heard his angry words, calmly extended her hand to him.
"It's not that simple. Even if you went to the ends of the earth, you wouldn't escape me, and the fact that you know nothing about me is normal." For I am your destiny, and no one knows it in advance.
As it was destined for the king, so it happened, so he married a virgin. A lavish wedding took place, at which I too was present, drinking mead and wine. A hermit was also a guest, explaining to the wedding guests, between chocolate cake and pistachio ice cream, the power of human fate.
"Consider my example, what a man's efforts mean in comparison to him. I hid in the forests to live alone, and he so manipulated various matters, so cunningly plotted an intrigue, even involving the royal majesty, that he finally caught up with me; he lured me out of my cave and sat me down at the table with you.
" "Yes, yes, fate never abandons a man... Besides, I fear this is not the end of the surprises," he sighed philosophically as a certain, rounded woman offered him a jug of mulled wine.
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