Khalil Gibran's The Madman 12: A Reading For Reflection

This is the parable entitled The Wise King from Khalil Gibran’s work The Madman. I invite you to take a moment to relax, listen to the short reading, and allow the words simply to fall into your awareness without intellectual grasping. Perhaps pause for a moment afterward and notice how you feel.

Transcript

A reading for reflection from Khalil Gibran's work,

The Madman,

His parables and poems.

The Wise King Once there ruled in the distant city of Wirani,

A king who was both mighty and wise,

And he was feared for his might and loved for his wisdom.

Now,

In the heart of that city was a well,

Whose water was cool and crystalline,

From which all the inhabitants drank,

Even the king and his courtiers,

For there was no other well.

One night,

When all were asleep,

A witch entered the city and poured seven drops of strange liquid into the well,

And said,

From this hour he who drinks this water shall become mad.

Next morning all the inhabitants,

Save the king and his lord Chamberlain,

Drank from the well and became mad,

Even as the witch had foretold.

And during that day the people in the narrow streets and in the marketplaces did naught but whisper to one another,

The king is mad,

Our king and his lord Chamberlain have lost their reason,

Surely we cannot be ruled by a mad king,

We must dethrone him.

That evening the king ordered a golden goblet to be filled from the well,

And when it was brought to him he drank deeply and gave it to his lord Chamberlain to drink.

And there was great rejoicing in that distant city of Wirani,

Because its king and his lord Chamberlain had regained their reason.

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