Long, long ago, there was a King who was very fond of painting portraits. One day he went to a hilltop and painted a beautiful picture on a canvas. When the picture was ready, he stood before the picture. He moved to and fro and gave it a finishing touch with his brush. Then he stepped backwards, looking at the picture before him, to see how it looked from a distance. He reached almost the edge of the hill.
A shepherd boy, who was grazing his sheep on the hill, saw the King. He thought that if the King moved back even a bit, he would fall down into the valley below and die. So he ran to the picture and tore it with a hard blow of his stick.
The King was very angry with the boy. He rushed to the boy and caught him. He angrily shouted, "You fool! What have you done? I will kill you."
The shepherd boy fell on his knees before the King and said in a humble voice, "Sir, please look back. If I had not done this, you would have fallen down and lost your life."
The King looked back and thanked the boy for saving his life. He said to the boy, "If you had not used your presence of mind, I would have certainly died." Then the King took the boy with him to the palace and rewarded him with rich gifts.
Later, the boy was brought to the palace and brought up there under the personal care of the King. After a few years, he was made the King's Chief Minister.
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