There was once a great king who was renowned for his wisdom and intelligence. He decided it was time to retire, so he spread the word across his kingdom that he would soon appoint a new successor to his throne. The king was considered to be the wisest to have come to power. His clever policies helped to build a just and content nation during his rule.
The king called the nation's youth together and gathered them in the royal hall. The king gave each of them a seed and said, “This is a very special seed. I want all of you to plant it, take care of it and return after a year with what you have. Based on what you bring back, I will decide who will be the country's next king. Everyone left and excitedly planted their seed and waited for it to grow. As the months passed by, the youth of the country were talking about how their plant had grown tremendously beautiful. Among all the youth was a young man whose seed hadn’t sprouted. Although he used to water the seed every day and do everything to make it grow, the seed would grow.
A year had passed from the day the seed was distributed. All the youth were summoned to the palace, where they were to display the outcome of their seeds. The young man, whose seed did not grow, was very reluctant even to attend the gathering, but he went to the palace anyway with his pot of soil. In the gathering, he was amazed to see the variety of beautiful plants others had grown. The young man put his empty pot on the floor while a number of the others were laughing at him as he did so. The young man was embarrassed to be there.
The king arrived in the hall and inspected each and every pot. The young man was hiding in the back, trying to go unseen, but the king found him and paused when he did. Walking over, he eyed the young man and his plant closely but said nothing. He ordered his guards to bring the young man to the front of the room. The young man was very sad as the king had noticed his utter failure to grow a seed. Arriving at the front, the guards let go of him, leaving him standing alone before all the others, many of whom were snickering and pointing. The king called the young man closer. He raised his hand and roared, “Behold, everyone, your new king!”
The king said, “One year ago, I gave everyone a seed. I instructed you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back. You were unaware that every seed I handed out had been boiled beforehand so that none of them were fit to grow! After a year, all of you have brought me trees, plants, and flowers, born of your dishonesty. The seeds which grew these plants were not the ones I provided you. Therefore, look upon the only honest one among you, this young man, and know now why he deserves to be your ruler.”
Moral: This sounds like a test we should impose here and now on politicians and all public servants.