Part I
The King

Long, long ago there lived a king. He lived far away, but not too far. His royal ideas were influenced by European neighbors who were more progressive in their ideas and behavior. So, compared to other kings of that time, the king in our story was only “semi-barbaric”. Even so, he still had ideas that revealed his true barbaric side. He was an intelligent king, and he had a very active imagination. He was also a very decisive king, and as king he had the power to turn his imagination into reality. The moment the king decided something, he made that thing a law. When everyone around him acted correctly, he was a calm and agreeable king. But if something went wrong, he became even calmer and more agreeable, because he was the happiest when he could use his authority to fix the problem.

One of the ideas our semi-barbaric king took from his progressive neighbors was the idea of the public arena. In other kingdoms, the public arena was a place where wild animals and gladiators fought to entertain the citizens. But our king did not build his arena for the people to watch courageous fighters or battles between man and beast. The king used his arena as a courtroom, a tribunal for citizens accused of crimes, where guilty criminals were punished and innocent citizens were rewarded by pure and impartial chance.

When a citizen was accused of a crime, the king made an announcement: on a day he decided, the accused citizen was brought to the tribunal in the king’s arena in front of all the citizens of the city. But how does the public arena represent the barbaric side of the king’s nature, you ask?

Well, on the day of the trial, after all the people arrive in the arena, and the king is sitting on his royal throne, he gives a signal. When the king gives his signal, a door below him on the floor of the arena opens, and the accused person walks out onto the sand of the amphitheater. Directly opposite the accused person, on the other side of the arena, there are two doors, side-by-side. The doors are identical - in shape and design and color - you cannot tell the difference between one door and the other. It is the responsibility of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He can choose to open either door. No one guides him or influences him except impartial and incorruptible chance. Behind one of the identical doors is a tiger! The strongest and cruelest tiger the king can find. When the accused person opens that door, the tiger jumps out and immediately catches him and rips him to pieces! This is the “punishment” for his guilt. The moment the case of the criminal is decided like this, melancholy bells ring in the city, and the large audience walks slowly home. The people are sad that a citizen so young and handsome, or so old and respected, is guilty and had to die...