Everybody liked King Motu the Magnificent except King Chhotu the Cheater.
King Chhotu the Cheater ruled in the land nearby. King Chhotu was very jealous of King Motu and dreamed about taking over King Motu’s kingdom. He especially liked those dreams where he took over all of King Motu’s wealth and treasures. King Chhotu tirelessly schemed to make his dreams come true.
Quite frankly, there was nothing to like about King Chhotu.
King Chhotu was very greedy and selfish. He hardly ever did anything for his people. And King Chhotu never kept his promises. Poor people got no help from King Chhotu. King Chhotu was not popular with his neighbouring kings either.
King Chhotu's people did not feel secure, nor truly safe.
King Chhotu tried to copy King Motu, and when he addressed his people he said: "I am duty bound to do all within my capacity for my people. Good of my people will always come first before anyone else's and by that 'anyone else' I mean that it includes the Royal family!"
King Chhotu would then promise a long list of items to his people, only, he would never keep his promises. At the last minute he would back out of a promise by saying: "Yes a promise is a promise, and within my capacity I'll do all that I can to fulfill what I have promised. That is a given, and, there is no going back on it. However, we have just allocated a hefty budget for a five year plan this very day. So, I am sorry to say, unfortunately this particular promise is just not within my capacity at present!"
And that would be that. Of course the five year plan (or whatever he had thought of on the spur of the moment to avoid fulfilling the promise!) would never be heard of again either.
King Chhotu’s soldiers hated him the worst. The soldiers suffered a lot under him. They were badly armed. They were poorly paid and their families were almost reduced to starving as a result. The soldiers did not want to fight for him.
Even animals, especially wild ones that lived in the forest bordering King Chhotu’s and King Motu’s kingdoms, suffered badly because King Chhotu treated them cruelly. He laid hidden traps to capture them for fun, and then killed them with spikes that had poisoned tips.
King Chhotu’s people avoided King Chhotu the Cheater. King Chhotu wondered why he was not as popular as King Motu. Duh! What did he expect with his record - but he was totally clueless. All in all, as bad rulers go, King Chhotu the Cheater was the worst.
Would King Chhotu stop at anything to make his dreams come true?