The knight's riddle

The knight assembled a pile of ten rocks, one fairly larger than the others. His words were devoid of emotions; just a powerful, strong, natural voice, “Present thou a pile of rocks do I, take one out without disturbing the rest that lie. If thou fail to extract the larger one, chopped thy head shall be with the next year’s rising sun.”

“But, I-I, don’t understand that, how should I-”

The knight evaporated in the chilly, sharp evening air, leaving the king dazed. 

Days passed, the king was famished. He could hardly differentiate his thoughts from reality.

Suddenly, scenes flashed past his eyes; he was sitting on a horse holding a bow, the arrow flew straight into a deer, it dies instantly but its predators starved for days until they all die. The king then understood the importance of the deer, who was the larger rock.

He yelled victoriously, “The riddle was never meant to be solved. It was only meant for me to understand. Now –“

The king trailed off as he realized what all heinous crimes he had committed over his lifetime.

The day came when he had to meet the knight. “I beseech thee Oh mighty knight”, the king called out, “I now realize the careless blunders that I made. I offer my life to thou.”

“No my friend,” the knight appeared, “Thou have learned thy lesson. My purpose here is done.” The knight dissipated, leaving behind the legend of the knight’s riddle.

Credit: storiestogrowby.org

By Dhruv Shah