MOVE ASIDE
The king said, “Move
aside.”
The young knight
refused.
“Then we meet on the
battlefield,” the king said,
“and god will give me
the strength to remove you.”
So they met on the
battlefield,
and it happened
exactly as the king had said.
The knight was
destroyed,
unhorsed, humiliated,
and then beheaded.
 |
| Move aside. |
The king said, “This
is my road and my land.
Move aside and
yield.”
Another young knight
refused.
“Then we meet on the
battlefield,” the king said,
“and god will give me
the strength to remove you.”
So they met on the
battlefield,
and it happened
exactly as the king had said.
The young knight fell
from his horse.
He was finished with
the king’s sword.
The king said, “Move
aside.”
Over and over he told
the young knights to move aside.
Over and over they
ignored his command.
Over and over they
were destroyed.
Because the king’s
land belongs to the king,
and he has a right to
run it as he sees fit.
And knights can
challenge him if they choose,
but they will be
destroyed.
The king will not
give up his land.
Then one day the king
said, “Move aside,”
and the young knight
did move aside.
With an apology, he
bowed his head and moved aside,
and then he continued
on his journey.
“You mock me with
your avoidance,” the king said,
which the young
knight fervently denied
with patience,
humility, and respect,
and then he continued
on his journey.
The young knight had
many adventures.
He rescued many
maidens and slew evil dragons.
Until one day he made
for himself a kingdom
with his own lands to
run and protect and love.
There were laws laid
down for the good of the people.
There was the welfare
of the poor to think about.
There was a new
generation to raise with the same ideas.
And there were
borders to protect, rules to enforce.
The king said, “Move
aside.”
A clever knight knows
that one stretch of road
can easily be
traveled around,
and an inflated ego
means certain death.
An impasse can be an
opportunity.
Move aside and
continue on your journey.
