The lonely shepherd

A long time ago, a king went searching for a devoted man to work in his palace. He came across a hard-working shepherd who impressed the king with his dedication and commitment to his work. Before not too long, the king promoted the shepherd as one of his councilors and even became his confidante. Many of the other workers became very jealous of that shepherd and went to talk to the king about him. They told the king that the shepherd daily locks himself in an abandoned room and stays there for an hour or so. They warned the king that he might be setting something up to attack the king and overthrow him. The king became very concerned about this and made a point to find out what the shepherd was doing in that room. So one day he confronted him and asked if he could come with him to that solitary room. The shepherd protested and told the king that it was his private room. However, the king called his councilors and invited them to go along with him and check for themselves what goes on in that suspicious room. They waited until the shepherd had gone in, and they forced themselves inside, only to find the shepherd kneeling down in bare feet, praying in front of a crucifix and a flickering candle in front of it. There was nothing else in that room, no furniture, not even a chair. When the king asked for an explanation, the shepherd told him: “I come here daily to pray, and to thank God for giving me the opportunity to serve you, my Lord.” Thereupon, the king, who was childless, started to treat the shepherd as his own son.