The King and the Poisoned Well - An Old Parable

Once there was a kingdom whose people all drank water from a single well.

One night, while everyone slept, an enemy slipped into the city and poured poison into the well. The poison did not kill anyone—but it drove people mad.

The next morning, the entire kingdom drank from the well. Mothers drank, merchants drank, soldiers drank. Soon they all began to think and speak strangely. They argued over nonsense and agreed on foolish things, yet to each other they seemed perfectly normal.

Only the king and his court remained unaffected, because they drank from a separate, untouched spring.

Before long, the people began to whisper.

“The king is insane,” they said. “We cannot allow ourselves to be ruled by such a madman.”

The whispers became shouts. The shouts became threats. The people demanded a king who was sane—one who thought as they did.

The king looked out over his kingdom and saw that he was alone in his clarity. If he remained different, he would be overthrown.

So he ordered a cup drawn from the poisoned well.

He drank.

At once, the people rejoiced.

“Our king has regained his reason!” they cried.