The Emperor's Flower

Once upon a time there lived in China a young man. He adored the emperor of the land because he had heard he loved flowers and supervised a beautiful garden on the palace grounds. Now the emperor was growing old. He had no son, and so he had no successors. Then one day in early spring as he wandered through his garden, he came up with a marvelous plan. The next day the emperor sent word to all the young men in the land, announcing that he would hand out seeds to anyone who wanted to grow a flower. When the young man heard the news, he filled a blue pot with moss and compost. Satisfied that his soil, he carried it to the palace. There he stood in line and received a seed. The man pressed the seed into the soil and covered it to keep it warm. Then he ran home. As months passed, the young man's other plants began to grow, but he was disappointed that nothing sprouted in his blue pot. Now the time was near to visit the emperor again, and his's blue pot was empty. "What could I be doing wrong?" he wondered. He visited every gardener he knew, no one knew what could be wrong. His heart nearly breaking with disappointment, the young man walked to the palace. When he arrived before him stood a sea of men, each one holding a flower. He had never seen a sight so beautiful. At last the emperor reached him. He bowed his head. "Where's your flower, young man?" the emperor asked. "Sir, I have failed you," he said sadly. "I was not able to grow a flower for you." But the emperor's face lit up with a smile. "You are my successor," the emperor said. "But I am the only person who failed." The emperor shook his head. "On the contrary," he explained. "You see, I boiled these seeds before I handed them out. None of the seeds should have grown, but all these people wanted only to please me with the beauty of their flowers and gain my throne. They did not care enough for honesty. You alone have proven you are a worthy leader."