The fairy tale
" The Parable of the Knight by J.P.
Once there was a young man who trained himself to be a Knight...
Others around him said, "You cannot become a Knight. There are no Knights here in this God-forsaken village. Knights live in a far away land into which you must be born. It is a fantasy. You are a young fool."
And they laughed at him. But his Mother said to him, "Try son. This village is worthless and nothing good will come of you should you stay here." So he did try. He had no other choice. For around him was nothingness.
After countless battles across many lands the young man did indeed become a real Knight - just as he had dreamed. Yet he wandered and had no home of his own. He merely fought each battle as they came and lived from day to day. And he was alone.
One day a brilliant young King (that until recently had only been a Prince in a Royal Family) called upon him. Many glorious plans had the King and he needed a Knight to fulfill them. The overjoyed Knight went forth and battled with all his heart. And the King, seeing this, looked around and said to his other servants, "Why didn't I he this guy from the start?"
The Knight had never fought for a King so young before. He seemed to know the things the Knight knew. The Knight saw that this King could be one worth serving and he made a vow that he would never take off his helmet until every battle had been won for this King. And it was good.
Yet there was trouble brewing beneath the surface in the Kingdom. The Generals felt that only they should give commands on the battlefield and seethed with jealousy inside themselves at every commandment put forth by the Knight. The young Knight continued to win every battle. What could they say to the King against him? So they plotted and waited.
The King's Blacksmith had always made swords for the battle. But the Knight saw that they were unwieldy and unreliable. The King's friend, Sir Did, called upon the Knight himself to make swords that he felt were good for his battles. For after all, was not the Knight the one who made the battle plans? Who should know better, he thought, the Knight who fights with the sword or the Blacksmith who merely watched battles from the sidelines? Besides, did the Blacksmith not he much better skills at building the King's devices and such? And was the Blacksmith not overburdened with tasks? "Then let the young Knight build the swords for his own battles," he said.
The Blacksmith did seethe with rage at this and quietly plotted. Sword making was his domain, he felt. The Carpenter also was upset. For every time he built a beautiful house, the Knight and his fellow Knights would battle and destroy it. Often the Knights would move aside the works of the Carpenter so that they could make a great battle for the King. The Carpenter was indignant. For he was a Master Carpenter. "Who does this young Knight think he is?" they grumbled among themselves. But the King was pleased. For all of the people in the Land of Bronze saw the battles and appreciated the work of the Knight. And it was good.
Even the spoiled Princess saw that it was good. And she was known for hating all things. The young Knight had her twin, the Handmaiden, performing all the Royal duties in her place. The people of lands far away who saw this were amazed, thinking the Princess truly skilled at performing the Royal duties when in fact it was her Handmaiden all along. Though the Princess despised all other women in the Kingdom, she could not fault the Knight, for his use of the Handmaiden proved good for her and she was made to seem great in the eyes of the people. And so she tolerated the Handmaiden.