The sorrows of the king
A pleasant-faced man who led her daughter by the hand across the town square on a beautiful sunny morning. His name was Antonio Gilardoni.
In the square there were the carts of merchants full of beautiful things. Antonio Gilardoni and her daughter stopped here and there to admire. Suddenly
Antonio felt to give a slap on the shoulder. He turned and there was a man more or less the same age, but dressed very well and had a strange hat on his head shiny. The man, laughing, gave him another slap on the shoulder saying
- You here, Gilardoni? Who would have thought! I have been a piece or maybe if you were not you. And then I said yes but that is the old friend Gilardoni, can not be him!
Antonio did not know what to say. Look, look at that gentleman, but he could not recognize him.
- How? Do not you recognize me? - Said the other. - Do not you remember Ricciardi, your neighbor's desk in elementary school?
- Enrico Ricciardi?
- He, in the flesh. Certainly a bit 'grown up since then.
Then Antonio was able to recognize it. Of course, not seen for at least three decades and the faces of both were much changed. At the same time
Ricciardi noted that Henry had in mind not a felt hat like his, but a kind of metal helmet, made of so many golden staves. Intrigued, Antonio asked
- Sorry, but that strange port cap on his head? What does this mean?
- It is the Crown - said Henry - the king's crown.
- How? You became king?
- Did not you know?
- You know, I I live well outside the world. Sorry, I did not know really.
- Yes, - said Henry, - I can not complain of fate. I struggled a lot. But now I am king. Gilardoni And you, what have you done?
- I? Nothing special. I'm a tailor, I started a family, in short, I manage. Everything is nell'accontentarsi. And you tell me, Ricciardi: now that you're king, you feel happy?
- Happy? Happy? Mah I should be, right? Yet!
- Something wrong? You are a king, you can cavarti every whim possible. What's so that you fear?
- Come, come, dear Gilardoni. Come with me I'll show you. It led him through
the square and then up a great marble staircase leading to the palace and then the interior of the palace, which was beautiful, up, up, from floor to floor, until they found on a terrace on top of the tallest tower and from there you could see the entire city and surrounding countryside, and even further away in the mountains and the sea, a beautiful landscape. Gilardoni and her child stood with his mouth open in wonder.
- See? - Said the king. - See all these houses and buildings around, see the roads and gardens and villas? It's all mine. Still, maybe you will not believe, still not enough for me.
- not that enough? - Antonio said, incredulously - but that What would you like more?
The king replied:
- I told you all homes and buildings around here are mine. But I have not been accurate. Look, please, that way. There is a small house from the roof black. You see?
Amid the endless landscape of roofs and terraces, white, pink and yellow stood out because a little black spot. The roof of a house that otherwise could not have been noticed.
- See? - Continued the king, - the little house is the only one that is not mine. I was never able to know that both the owner and so I have not yet been able to buy it. It is an insignificant house, where I would never go to live. Basically I do not know what to do with it. Yet, Would you believe it?, thinking that it is not mine does not give me peace. Antonio
look at him, incredulous.
- And there you see that great forest, - the king continued. - There are thousands and thousands of trees. And they are mine. Still not enough for me.
- Would other remaining forests?
- No, - said the king, - not like other forests, but if you sharp eyes maybe you can tell, right in the middle of the forest, surrounded by greenery, a tree from the leaves black.
- I see, I see - said Antonio.
- Well, that's the only tree that is not mine. And I could never know who is the owner, and so I could not buy it. I went many times to see it. It is a trivial tree, and give the bad wood. But the thought that is not mine does not give me peace.
- How strange, - said Antonio. - What do you want a tree that is more or less, you have that many? It should not matter anything.
- I know it may seem absurd - Ricciardi said. - But what do you want? We made it ... And we re not enough, look over there in that great prairie, where thousands of cows grazing on the prairie ...
thousands of beautiful white cows grazing with black horns but, lost in the immense herd, there was also all black with a white horns, and it was the only cow that did not belong to the king, who had never managed to find out the name of the owner and therefore had never been able to buy it. And this gave him no peace. [...]
- so unhappy you are, poor king?
- Yes, dear Gilardoni, old school. The whole world belongs to me and my every order is immediately executed. Yet, I swear, to have that house from the roof black, to have that tree, that cow, [...] I would be ready to give all my kingdom, including the endless treasures of silver, gold and precious stones. I have struggled for decades to be the richest and most powerful of all, and here I am here: a poor man without peace ... Now I must leave you, dear Gilardoni, because my ministers call me. I hope we meet again.
She took him to the threshold of the palace here and greeted him affectionately, giving the girl a nice package of chocolates.
who were exiting, the child took the last word:
- But why, Dad, do not you tell him, the king, that the house and tree, and that cow [...] are yours? Why do not you tell him? And why did not you return? Think. We gave him his kingdom. You would become king. And the mother became queen.
- make the change? - Antonio said. - To become like him? Did not you see What a disgrace?
- Dino Buzzati -