There once ruled a king who was admired by his people.
He was brave in battle
and kind in peace.
But above all,
he valued friendship.
From his childhood,
one friend had remained close to him.
They laughed together,
planned together,
and trusted each other without question.
When the king became ruler,
he brought this friend into the palace.
“You are like my brother,”
the king said.
“I trust you more than anyone.”
The friend smiled.
Slowly,
the king began to rely on him for everything.
Decisions.
Warnings.
Advice.
The ministers noticed something.
“Your Majesty,” one said carefully,
“listen to many voices, not just one.”
But the king waved them away.
“My friend would never mislead me,”
he replied.
What the king did not see
was what happened in silence.
The friend whispered lies into rival ears.
He weakened alliances.
He delayed messages.
Whenever danger approached,
he said calmly,
“There is nothing to worry about.”
One night,
while the king slept peacefully,
enemy forces crossed the border.
The guards were unprepared.
The army was scattered.
By the time the king realized the truth,
it was too late.
The palace fell.
The people fled.
The king escaped with nothing
but the clothes he wore.
Days later,
he sat alone under a tree.
His trusted friend was gone.
The ministers’ words echoed in his mind.
“I trusted friendship more than wisdom,”
the king whispered.
He understood then—
Trust is precious,
but blind trust is dangerous.
Friendship should be tested,
not assumed.
Years later,
the king became a teacher in a small village.
He told children one lesson again and again:
“Choose friends who tell you the truth,
not those who only agree with you.”
The kingdom was lost forever.
But the lesson remained.
🌟 MORAL OF THE STORY
Blind trust destroys judgment.
True friends protect you—even when the truth is uncomfortable.
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