1.A king，who was weary of the cares of his high office，determined to seek among his subjects for a man who was perfectly contented.His desire was to change places with that man，for he cared more for peace of mind than for royal dignity and honour.So he disguisedhimself，and set out on his search.
2.First he entered the house of a rich merchant，who had made his fortune in trade，and had now retired to enjoy a life of ease.The king soon discovered that themerchant found this life wearisome and tedious .
“I wish I were again enjoying an active life，like my neighbour over the way，”said he.“I should be quite contented to work as hard as I used to do.”
3.The king next entered the house of the “neighbour over the way，”whom the retired merchant envied.“Contented！”he exclaimed，in answer to a question of the king；“why，I am leading the life of a slave！I wish I could afford to retire from business，like my rich neighbour there.He has nothing to do but to drive about in his carriage and enjoy himself.”
4.Thinking that he might succeed better in his searchif he tried some other sphereof life，the king next wentto the house of a man whom he had lately appointed to an important office under the government.
But as he entered，he overheard this man speaking thus to himself，“Why did I ever think of accepting this position？I am envied by those who are under me，anddespisedby those who are above me.I should havebeen much better as head of a business of my own，like my well-to-do friends round the corner of the street.”
5.Sadly the king turned away from this house.
“Contentment must be found somewhere else，”he said，“in a position where men are above want，and yet freefrom the worries of ambition；”and he turned asideinto a back street and entered the shop of a carpenter.He entered into conversation with the man，and said，“A life of honest independence such as yours，my friend，must indeed be a life of contentment.”
6.“Who could be contented to work as a carpenter？”exclaimed the man.“If you are thinking of going into this business，let me warn you against it.I wish I had been anything else.I cannot see why some people have so much easier a life than others.There are two men forwhom I work in the next street；they have made largefortunes since I came to this wretchedlittle shop.Andthen there is one of the king‘s officers for whom I do a little work sometimes；he has plenty of money，and servants to wait on him.And as for the king himself，what has he to do but to enjoy himself ？Why cannot we poor working-men be as happy as they are？”
7.The king turned away in silence，and left thecity.Dressed as a traveller，he stopped at a labourer’s cottage at the side of a country road，and was invited by its owner to step in and rest.After he had partaken of the homely food that was offered him，he sat down beside the labourer on a bench near the door.
8.“I am afraid you must be ver y badly off，my friend，”said the king.
“Badly off ？not at all，”said the labourer，with a smile.“I am always sure of plenty of work here，and I am well paid for it as things go.Then my garden takes up any spare time that I have，and you never saw such crops of potatoes as it gives me.Badly off！Nay，so long as I can work I shall never grumble.”
9.“Are you quite contented with your lot asked the king.“Have you no troubles at all？”
“Oh，as to that，every one has his own troubles，and Ihave mine.There is the rheumatismin my arm，whichkeeps me awake all night sometimes，and will not let me work for days together.And then my landlord is not always so kind or even so just as he might be.”
10.“Why，is not this cottage your own？”The labourer laughed.“Oh no；I am not so rich as all that.But what I say is this，that though I have my own share of troubles，yet there is more good in my lot than in that of most people.I am quite satisfied with what I have ；and even my troubles will no doubt help to make me more like what I ought to be.”
11.The king took leave of his humble friend，and searched no further.“I have found，”said he to himself，“a man who is perfectly contented；and I have learned that I need not change places with him in order to be contented myself.The secret of contentment is this-to accept the evil along with the good；and instead ofthrowing off burdens，to try to bear them，so that they shall lead to a greater happiness.”
