A long time ago a very rich king had a smart and very beautiful daughter. They ruled over a very prosperous city that had three roads leading into it. Each road had a special kind of traveler assigned to it. However, each road also had problems, which threatened the travelers going into the city. The first road had a mean lion that ate up everything he saw. The second road had a gang of men who would kill the travelers. The third road had a group of thieves that robbed the travelers of their food and belongings.

Many men came to the king to ask him if they could marry his beautiful, smart daughter. But the king's daughter loved another man, and she wanted to marry him. However, the king didn't want her to marry the man she loved, so he announced that his daughter would only marry the man who could get rid of the dangers on the three roads into the city.

All the men in the city started to compete with each other so they could be the winner, and marry the king's daughter. They all failed to get rid of the dangerous attackers on the roads leading into the city.

The girl's lover went to the girl, and said, "You are a very smart girl. How can we solve these problems so we can be married ?"

She said, "Lets take care of the lion first. We'll set a trap for him. Don't use a spear or carry other weapons."

He set a trap for the lion. Then he called the king and all the people in the city, and he said, " Here's the lion I caught without a weapon." Everyone was surprised, and they all clapped for him.

The daughter's lover then secretly went back to her, and asked her how to get rid of the gang on the second road. She said, "We'll cook some delicious food. We will put poison in the food. Then we'll tie the food to some donkeys, and have them walk along the road." The gang of men robbed the food from the donkeys. They ate the food very fast, and they all died.

The young man went back to the king's daughter, and asked her how to get rid of the thieves on the third road. She said, "Go find as many horses as you can. Tie thorn bushes to each horse. Then let the horses run in different directions to scare the thieves." The running horses made lots of dust, and when the robbers saw all the horses and the dust, they thought they were being attacked by an army.

They said, "A huge and powerful army is coming! What shall we do ?" They decided to run away in different directions so no one would find them together.

The king was very happy that all three roads leading into the city were now safe for travelers. He let his daughter marry the man she loved. They had a big wedding with many presents from the people in the city.

They were happy because they had faced these problems together. They had discussed their problems and decided how to solve them. They were always loyal to each other.

Lesson : Talk about your problems with people who care. Together you have a much better chance of solving them.