The Beggars Choice

Once upon a time a poor beggar was walking through the forest when a glimmer of gold caught his eye and, looking round, to his astonishment he saw a cave full of gold coins and diamonds, rubies and emeralds as big as apples and, thanking heaven for his good fortune, he ran into the cave.
But then, inside the cave, the man saw a little girl, a little urchin in ragged clothes, locked in an iron cage who was sobbing and she pleaded with him,
"Please sir. Please rescue me from this cage".
"Why ofcourse I will", said the man.
But then, examining the cage the man could see no way of opening it.
So then he asked the little girl,
"How do I open the cage to release you?".
"You must forget about all the gold and jewels in this cave and say that you only wish to release me. Only when you have said this and have left this cave without a single gold coin or jewel in your pocket can I be free", she said.
The man looked around at all the gold and jewels and his heart ached.
"Can't I rescue you and take some treasure?", he asked.
"No", said the girl, "You have to choose. If you take just one piece of gold from this cave the cage will not open and I cannot leave".
But the poor man found this a very hard choice to make,
"You must understand", he said, "I am a very, very poor man. Just look at the ragged clothes I wear and how thin I am. I have not had a proper meal, oh, in years and just one of these gold coins could atleast by me some new clothes and a meal".
"I understand that it is hard to resist the temptation of gold and jewels", said the little girl, "But you have to understand that I have been locked in this cage for years and, for years, I have seen men come to this cave and have begged them to choose me instead of the gold but they have all chosen the gold and I have watched them leave the cave thinking that I will never be free because there are no men in this world who care more for a childs life or a childs happiness than a pile of gold".
Now the man was very poor but he was also very kind hearted and so moved by the little girls story that he threw down the gold and jewels he had picked up and said.
"Alright. I will choose you over the gold. I wish to set you free from your cage and that is all".
And the moment that the man said this the cage opened but then, however, what stepped out of the cage was not a little urchin in ragged clothes but an angel with white wings in a golden dress and a golden trumpet in her hands.
"I am the angel of the golden horn", she said, "An angel of fortune.  The devil of misfortune locked me in that cage but because you have freed me with your unselfish act I will grant any wish you desire".
So the man wished to be a wealthy king and live in a castle and, blowing upon her golden horn, the angel transported he and her to a castle of a far away land with servants and a never ending treasury of gold.
But then she said that she had to go back and sleep inside the golden horn and warned the man,
"Be kind always; be unselfish and the Devil who placed me in a cage will not find you but do one evil deed and the devil will see it; speak one evil word and the devil will hear and if he does he will find you".
So the man promised to always be kind and unselfish and the angel, folding her wings, went to sleep within the golden horn.
However, over time the man, forgetting the poverty he had escaped from and the vow he had made to the angel became spoiled and selfish and one day there was a famine in the land and all the poor people who were starving because of the famine went to the gates and pleaded that the king hear them and use his wealth to help them.
But the king did an evil thing.
"They are not my problem", he said, "Let them fend for themselves".
And the moment that he said this, it was like a trumpet had been blown in the devils ear, so clearly did he hear it then, flying through the air on three pairs of large bat wings, the giant devil landed infront of the castle, the earth trembling beneath its gigantic cloven hooves.
"Thief", the devil shouted, pointing a fiery trident towards the king inside the castle, "I have found you. Return my angel or I will tear your body limb from limb and throw your soul onto the barbecue of hell".
Now the king became terrified and, blowing into the golden horn woke the sleeping angel who came flying out.
"What did you do that was evil?", she asked the King, "You must have done something evil for the devil to find you".
The King confessed to what he had done but then he pleaded.
"Please you must help me. Isn't there something you can do?".
Tha angel shook her head,
"It is not what I do that matters", she said, "It is what you choose to do".
The man didn't understand but the angel said she would not tell him anymore and so the man sat down to think.
"What is it that I should do?", he wondered.
Then he remembered the choice he had made within the cave and all the poor starving people outside the palace.
"Order the gates of the castle to be opened", he said to one of his palace guards, "Let all the people in and give them all food and water".
And so the gates were opened and the poor people flooded into the castle but then, when the last of the starving people had entered and had been given food and water, their cups became golden trumpets and their bowls and spoons became drums and, wings growing upon their backs they turned into a gigantic army of white robed angels that, flying out of the palace, with their trumpet blasts and drum beats scared the devil so much that he tore open a hole in the ground and leapt down into hell.
From that day on the King remembered always to be kind and unselfish and he and his subjects lived happily for a long, long time.