The circle of 99, an inspiring story

Once upon a time there was a kingdom far away that was ruled by a sad ruler. He himself did not understand the reasons for his melancholy, until one of his wise men made him see that everything was related to the circle of 99. It would be a lesson that he would never forget.

It all started one morning when the king, in the midst of his sadness, saw one of his servants enter. The humble man smiled and hummed a song, with great enthusiasm. The sovereign realized that this servant was always happy and became curious. How could a servant feel happy and he, being the king, could not find peace?

He asked the man: “Why do you feel so happy ? ”. The servant did not know what to answer. “Why not?”he finally responded. “I live in the palace, serving the most powerful being in the kingdom… I have what I need… A comfortable house, a faithful wife, healthy children… What more would I want? I don’t see why I shouldn’t be happy with this life I lead.…”

The king was upset. He didn’t believe a word of her. How could a man who only had a modest house and a diet much inferior to his own be happy? He threatened to behead him if he did not reveal the secret. of your happiness. The servant excused himself and he asked for forgiveness if he had offended him. In reality, she had no way to respond.

The wise man and the circle 99

Finally, the king told his servant to leave. He almost couldn’t tolerate that smile that didn’t go away with anything. Not even the threat of death had really fazed him. When the humble man had already left, he immediately called the wise men of the palace. He needed to decipher that enigma.

When the wise men were gathered he ordered them to tell him why the servant was happy with that miserable life and yet he couldn’t stop being sad. One of the wise men spoke and said: “It’s simple. The servant is happy because he does not yet know the circle of 99.” The king was intrigued . What was that thing they called the circle of 99?

The wise man then told him that it was useless to explain in words the meaning of the circle of 99. The best thing was for him to check it with his own eyes. It was only necessary to gather 99 pure gold coins. He would show him how upon entering the circle of 99, who was a happy man, would become an unhappy being.. The king accepted the test.

Entry into the circle of 99

The king ordered to collect 99 solid gold coins, the most valuable in the kingdom. Together with the wise man they put them in a bag and took them, stealthily, to the servant’s house. They left them at the dooralong with a sign: “This is a reward for being a faithful and selfless servant. Enjoy it”. Then they stayed hidden to observe what was happening.

The servant suddenly came out and saw the bag. He was surprised. He looked from side to side and then entered his house intrigued. The king and his wise man watched him from outside, without being seen. The humble man took the coins and scattered them on the table.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Then she set about telling his new fortune. He made little piles of 10 coins. As he reached the last pile, he thought something was wrong. This one did not have 10 coins, but 9.

The circle of 99 trap

The servant thought a coin had fallen out. He looked for her everywhere, but he did not find her. Then he said out loud: “Someone saw the package and stole a coin”. He looked dazed and began to do the math: how long would it take to get one coin to complete a hundred? He did addition and subtraction.

Working normally, it would take about five years. But what if she got an additional income? Maybe I would reduce those five years to just two. What if he asked his wife to also work on something on the side? It is possible that in just one year he achieved his goal…

From then on, the servant became very brooding and distrustful.. She was suspicious of everyone in the palace. He thought that one of them had stolen the coin that, according to him, was missing from his fortune. He also feared being robbed again.

He kept making new and new plans to complete his hundred coins. He was trapped in the loop of 99. He no longer thought about what he had, but rather about what he lacked. The wise man was absolutely right.

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