The Queens Garden

The Queen's Garden was sculpted and designed by an Ancient Asylian King, who sought to win the heart of a young woman.

The story goes that the King held within his hand all the power of the world, in his mind all the intelligence of the stars. His wine was divine, his will absolute, his grandeur irrefutable. And yet for all that, he was cold and melancholy, for he was alone at the peak of greatness.

In his court, the people would flatter him to no end, they'd speak their honeyed words and he could find none among them willing to speak truth, choosing instead to speak what truths they believed he desired. And thus he felt lonely, without a true friend.

One day, after having had enough of it, he took upon a disguise, and wandered the streets of his city, in search of something he could not know. However, the common folk know him immediately for who he was, and bowed before him, raising him above them as they always had, and thus he felt lonely, without a true equal.

But then he came across a girl amidst the filth of an alley, who pointed at him and laughed, to the commoners horror. "Do you not know who this is" They said, to which she replied "Of course I do, and that is why I laugh, for a man with power over all the world, All the intelligence of the stars, can think of no better disguise than an ugly yellow sheet over his head."

And the King was stunned, for this was the truth. He had not thought of a better disguise but simply thrown an old sheet over his head. He took off the sheet and said "And how would you think to hide me?"

And then she took a handful of mud and threw it at his face, where it splashed and dirtied him. Though those who saw were mortified, the King smiled, for he saw his reflection in a puddle and did not recognize himself with a muddied face.

"You hide the greatness of the sun by covering it with the simplicity of dirt." She said to him, as she covered his greatness in mud, obscuring who he was. She led him through the city, and those that saw him knew him not, but treated him well for he was kind and they too were kind. And thus he no longer felt lonely.

Eventually the time would come when he had to return to the Palace. Before he did, the woman gave back to him his dirty yellow sheet and said "Your disguise is poor, but it works well to show you really are. I'll not be found here by you, lest you are found here by me with this disguise once more."

And so began a long standing courtship, as beautiful as it was unconventional. For every free evening, the King would cover himself in a dirty yellow sheet and make his way into the city, where he would be found by the woman and mud cast upon him, and thus they would make their way amongst the people, nothing more than a pair of filthy peasants covered in simple dirt.

She showed him many things, not least of which was her garden, a small and simple thing filled with dirt and small plants from which grew humble things, tomatoes, potatoes, and rice. from this garden she grew the food which she cooked, and fed to her friends. He learned that she had no family, that she lived like this, alone, and always had. Yet she had never been lonely, for the people had always been kind to her. She spoke with him not as a subject to her king, but as a woman to a man.

He fell in love with the woman then, for she knew the truth of who he was, yet gave her the one thing no other ever would. He asked her to marry him, for he wanted her to live with him in the palace.

But she refused and said to him "I will not go to a cold and lonely place, not while I have my garden and my dirt."

But the King was determined, and so he used his power and his intelligence and created for her a grand garden to be unmatched anywhere else in the world. But even then it was not enough for her.

So he raised a grand orchard to bear all manner of fruit. But it was not enough for her.

So he cultivated a vinyard where the greatest wine would be made, but it was not enough for her.

So he built a stable, where the most powerful and majestic of beasts would grow, but it was not enough for her.

So he crafted paths of peace and zen to meditate, but it was not enough for her

All that he wrought he did for her, but never was it enough. His heart breaking out of love for her, he went before her on his knees, and begged her.

"But tell me what you desire, and you shall have it. Forests, oceans, stars in heaven, nothing will be too far a trek to acquire, if in return I would have your heart."

And she smiled and laughed at him, and threw a dirty yellow sheet over his bowed head. "You ask me what I desire, what I can be given to be bought. But I told you before, so long as i have my garden and my dirt, I shall never need anything more."

And the King looked to her from under his dirty yellow sheet and said "If that is so, then I shall give up all that I have to be with you. Will you then share with me your garden and your dirt, and your love?"

And the girl thought and smiled and agreed. That if he was so willing to abandon all that he had to be with her, then she would not be so churlish as to turn him away.

This story is much beloved by the commonfolk, for it is a reminder to them that what each of us cherishes has worth to those who cherish it, great and small alike.