The old man and the king – a story told by ‘Abdu’l-Baha
Baha'i Stories for Children · Read original
Studio narration for this story is coming — it’ll be generated by the cloud-TTS pipeline (voice: auto-selected from the source author).
When in Bahá'í history
A great king walking in his garden one day noticed an old man, about 90 years old, planting some trees. The king asked what he was doing and the old man answered that he was planting date seeds.
The king was pleased at this answer, so rewarded the old man
some money. The gardener fell on his knees and thanked him.
This so pleased the king, he gave him another piece of
money.
Again, the old gardener knelt saying:
This pleased the king so very much that perforce he gave the
old man another piece of money, saying:
(From 'Star of the West', vol. 9. no. 18; 'Child’s Way' magazine, January-February 1980)
Source: Baha'i Stories for Children (https://bahaistoriesforchildren.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-old-man-and-king-story-told-by.html).
Discuss this story
For adults
- What stands out about this person's response in this account?
- What might this person's example ask of us in our own circumstances?
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
For teens
- Who is someone you know who lives out devotion the way this story describes?
- If you were going to tell a friend this story in two sentences, what would you say?
For children
- How do you think the people in this story felt at the end?
- What did this person do that was kind?
Reflection
- What in this account feels timely? What feels timeless?
- How does devotion show up in your life right now — and where is it being asked of you?
- Is there someone in your life who would be helped by hearing this story?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "The old man and the king – a story told by ‘Abdu’l-Baha" drawn from?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Cite this story
Various. *Baha'i Stories for Children*. https://bahaistoriesforchildren.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-old-man-and-king-story-told-by.html
Record yourself reading this story
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