Satisfaction – The Allegory Of “the 99 “

There was once a very sad king who lived in a kingdom in the distance. The king could not understand why he felt so gloomy. Not until one day, when one of his advisers told him about “the 99” and the importance of contentment.  This was a lesson the king would never forget,

It all started one morning when the king, melancholy as usual, noticed how one of his servants entered the room, smiling and singing. It dawned on the king that this modest man was always in a good mood, and he could not understand why. How could a servant express such satisfaction  when he himself, as king, was so dissatisfied?

The king asked the servant, “Why are you so happy?” The servant was confused. “Why should I not be happy?” he finally answered. “I live in a castle. I serve the most powerful person in the whole kingdom… What more could I want? I can not understand why I would not be happy with my life… ”

This upset the king. He did not believe for a moment what the servant said. How could a man who lived in so much more modest conditions than himself be so happy? The king threatened to have the servant beheaded if he did not reveal the secret behind his happiness. The servant apologized for insulting the king, but did not know what to say.

Finally, the king asked the servant to leave the room. He had a hard time enduring the officer’s incessant smile. Not even the death threat seemed to have any effect. As soon as the servant had left, the king summoned his advisers. The mystery must be solved. 

When the advisers were gathered, he commanded them to talk about how it was possible for his servants to be so content with their miserable life, while the king himself always felt so discouraged. One of the advisers stood up and said: “It’s easy. The servant is happy because he has not taken part in ‘the 99’. ” This aroused the king’s interest. What in the name of peace meant “the 99”?

The adviser said that there was no point in trying to explain the term “the 99” in words. The king must see it with his own eyes. All he needed was 99 coins of pure gold, so the adviser would show how all happy people become unhappy when faced with the phenomenon of “the 99”. The king accepted the challenge.

The phenomenon of “the 99” – satisfaction is put to the test

The king ordered the production of 99 coins of solid gold, the most valuable coins in the whole kingdom. He put them in a sack and went with his counselor to the servant’s house. They left the sack with a message at the door:  “This is your reward for being a faithful and unselfish servant. You are welcome!” Then they hid to see what would happen.

The servant came home, saw the sack and was very surprised. He looked around and walked so confused into the house. The king and his advisers observed him from their hiding place. The modest man emptied the sack with the coins on the table. 

He could not believe his eyes. He began counting his new fortune and stacked the coins in piles of ten. When he got to the last pile, he thought something was wrong. There were 9 coins instead of 10.

The trap with “the 99” – the death knell for contentment

The servant first thought that a coin had rolled down from the table and searched in vain for it everywhere. Then he thought aloud,  “Someone must have seen the sack and stolen one of the coins.” Then he began to think about how long it would take him to earn an extra coin. He made some calculations.

If he worked as usual, it would take him five years. But what if he worked harder? Then he might only need to work for two years. And what if he asked his wife to work more too? Then maybe he would achieve his goal after just one year…

From that day on, the servant became very distrustful. He suspected that someone at the castle had stolen the coin that he thought was missing from the collection. He also worried about being robbed again.

The servant never stopped pondering how he could earn an extra gold coin. He had fallen into the trap of “the 99”. From now on, he no longer thought of everything he had, but only of what he lacked. The king’s adviser proved to be right.