A great many years ago in a land far away from us there was a certain
king who was dearly beloved by all of his people. Men admired him
because he was strong and just. In all of his dealings they knew they
could depend upon him. Every matter that came to his consideration was
carefully weighed in his mind and his decisions were always wise.
Women trusted him because he was pure and true, with lofty thoughts
and high ambitions, and the children loved him because of his
gentleness and tenderness toward them. He was never so burdened with
affairs of state that he could not stop to speak a pleasant word of
greeting to the tiniest child, and the very poorest of his subjects
knew they could count upon his interest in them.
This deep-seated love and reverence for their king made the people of
this country wish very much for a way in which to give expression to
it so that he would understand it. Many consultations were held and
one after another the plans suggested were rejected, but at last a
most happy solution was found. It was rapidly circulated here and
there and it met with the most hearty approval everywhere.
It was a plan for celebrating the King's birthday.
Of course, that had been done in many lands before, but there were
certain features about this celebration which differed materially from
anything that had ever been tried. They decided that on the King's
birthday the people should all bring him gifts, but they wanted in
some way to let him know that these gifts were the expression of a
love on the part of the giver which was pure and true and unselfish,
and in order to show that, it was decided that each gift should be a
"White Gift."
The King heard about this beautiful plan, and it touched his heart in
a wonderful way. He decided that he would do his part to carry out the
idea and let his loving subjects know how much he appreciated their
thoughtfulness.
You can just imagine the excitement there was all over the land as the
King's birthday drew near. All sorts of loving sacrifices had been
made and everyone was anxious to make his gift the very best he had to
offer. At last the day dawned, and eagerly the people came dressed in
white and carrying their white gifts. To their surprise they were
ushered into a great, big room--the largest one in the palace. They
stood in silence when they first entered it, for it was beautiful
beyond all expression. It was a _white_ room;--the floor was white
marble; the ceiling looked like a mass of soft, white fluffy clouds;
the walls were hung with beautiful white silken draperies, and all the
furnishings were white. In one end of the room stood a stately white
throne, and seated upon it was their beloved ruler and he was clad in
shining white robes, and his attendants--all dressed in white--were
grouped around him.
Then came the presentation of the gifts. What a wealth of them there
was--and how different they were in value. In those days it was just
as it is now--there were many people who had great wealth, and they
brought gifts which were generous in proportion to their wealth.
One brought a handful of pearls, another a number of carved ivories.
There were beautiful laces and silks and embroideries, all in pure
white, and even splendid white chargers were brought to his majesty.
But many of the people were poor--some of them very poor--and their
gifts were quite different from those I have been telling about. Some
of the women brought handfuls of white rice, some of the boys brought
their favorite white pigeons, and one dear little girl smilingly gave
him a pure white rose.
It was wonderful to watch the King as each one came and kneeled before
him as he presented his gift. He never seemed to notice whether the
gift was great or small; he regarded not one gift above another so
long as all were white. Never had the King been so happy as he was
that day and never had such real joy filled the hearts of the people.
They decided to use the same plan every year, and so it came to pass
that year after year on the King's birthday the people came from here
and there and everywhere and brought their white gifts--the gifts
which showed that their love was pure, strong, true and without stain,
and year after year the King sat in his white robes on the white
throne in the great white room and it was always the same--he regarded
not one gift above another so long as all were white.
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