Fairytale: awareness of the value of what you own

Prince Shirab was crossing his city between a wing of cheering populace: the men bent their knees as he passed, the women remained enchanted by his beauty for a moment, then blushed and lowered their heads modestly; the children tried to touch the precious fabrics that wrapped it with their hands, emitting amazed sighs in the feel the softness of linen or silk and in perceiving the delicacy of the embroideries.
Satisfied with the admiration he aroused, Prince Shirab smiled at everyone, threw a few coins carelessly at the needy, answered the questions that some scholar in the crowd asked him, without ever being uncertain, threw deep looks at the most beautiful girls he saw, turning their pallor into redness and then into pallor again, as if in his eyes they read bold promises and words of love.
Finally he stopped on the most beautiful square of the city, a wonder of foreigners, at the foot of a bold bubbling fountain.
Around him the crowd fell silent reverently, listening to the philosophical discussion he was conducting.
A little farther on, a beggar, sitting on the edge of the fountain, turned his back to him indifferently, fishing with his thin and filthy fingers in a bowl full of a nauseating mush which evidently constituted his meal.
Surprised by the lack of reverence shown by the beggar, but at the same time well disposed by the warm air, by the admiring crowd and by his benevolence, he raised his voice so that the poor man could notice his mistake and pay him the honors he deserved.
«You know - he said to the silent crowd - that io I am the lord of this country and that my family has governed it since the dawn of time ».
The beggar continued undaunted to chew his food.
"My wealth is so immense that even the lavatories in my palace are inlaid with precious stones."
The beggar put his little finger in his ear and scratched it for a long time.
"My beauty and my strength - continued Shirab angrily - are such that I do not need to fight wars: the queens of other countries are now happy in my harem and the kings are all my vassals, so that everything that goes as far as there is. eye of a hawk of the skies, already belongs to me ».
The beggar resumed eating, while Shirab continued increasingly angry:
"There is nothing that I do not know: I studied the sciences and the arts with the greatest masters of the north, south, east and west."
In the silence that followed his speech there was clearly a smack of lips and the beggar, having put down the empty bowl, began to pick his teeth with the fingernail of a finger.
"For all gods, man, this is too much!" Shirab exclaimed and, striding towards him, took him by the shoulders and forced him to turn around.
"Beggar - he shouted - how dare you insult me ​​like that?"
"I had no intention of insulting you, my lord," replied the beggar without showing fear.
«But aren't you afraid of me, man?».
"If you really are as right as they say, how could I fear you?"
"Maybe I shouldn't consider myself insulted by your behavior?" Shirab asked puzzled.
“My lord, judge for yourself: if you had been in the place of my stomach, who would you have paid more attention to after two days of fasting? To the proud speeches of those who have never suffered, since birth, any deprivation or to this cup of food? ».
Shirab was dumbfounded for a few moments, then walked away without answering towards his home.
Only a few hours passed before a carriage came out of the castle bringing refined food, precious clothes and hard cash to the beggar, together with the prayer to go and live in the castle in order to remind the prince how much, in reality, the things he was worth so much. proud.