The King's Special Meal

The following story came to me from a reader a few minutes ago, and somehow it seems relevant to live auctions, rare watches and those who buy such watches at such auctions:

Once upon a time, the King was hunting, and became lost in the woods.  He wandered around for several hours, could not find his way out of the woods, and grew hungier and hungrier, as the hours passed.  As it became dark, the King finally came to the small hut of a lonely peasant, in the darkest part of the woods.

The King got directions from the peasant and then asked the man for some bread and eggs, and some water to drink.  Of course, he did not present himself as King, but only as a hunter lost in the woods.  The peasant was happy to help the man, and prepared a simple meal.

After the King had eaten the food, he told the peasant that he wanted to pay him for the meal, and he insisted that the peasant suggest a fair price for the meal.  The peasent replied, “The price of the meal is three gold coins — one for the bread, one for the eggs and one for the water”.

The King was shocked by this price, as he knew that the meal was worth only a small fraction of this amount.  He thought back about how hungry he was, he thought how kind the peasant had been, and he realized that he had asked the peasant to suggest the price of the meal.  Still, the King was bothered at the thought of paying three gold coins for the simple meal.

Finally, the King said to the peasant, “Excuse me, but are eggs and bread and water so scarce in this part of the forest, that you can charge this kind of price for a simple meal?”

The peasant replied, “No, no, your Majesty.  The eggs and bread and water are plentiful.  What is rare are visits from the King.”