The Poor Peasant

King Richard rode into the village with great fanfare. The King’s Widget flapped on the Royal Flag of Deltonia as clouds of dust were raised behind 50 horsemen. This visit was unusual because the village was a unionista stronghold.

The villagers gathered in the town square waiting for the King to speak. “My fellow Deltonians, I hope today finds you well”, said the King. “Many of you are considering how you will vote in the coming election. Will we remain a family and a Kingdom or will we become a republic, ruled by outsiders who know nothing of you or your problems. I promise you our direct relationship will only grow.”

An Extra Acre Of Land

The crowd grew restless. King Richard continued, “To prove my good intentions, I promise that if the unionistas are defeated the very next day I will give each of you an extra acre of land.” “But will we get title to that land? Will there be a guarantee the land will remain ours?” shouted one peasant. “Silence” shouted the King. “You need no title. You have a direct relationship. That has always been good enough.” “You are a liar” shouted another peasant. “You have stolen our land before.”

With that, the King wheeled upon his horse and gave the command to leave the town. Several peasants were knocked to the ground in the ensuing melee.

That night John, a poor peasant, paced the floor of his hut long after his family had gone to sleep. John was desperate. Without more land his family would be ruined. He had been depending on a unionista victory to bring land reform and relief from the King’s tax collectors. But now he began to wonder. The King had said he would get more land the day after the unionistas were defeated. He could feed his family and return to the dignified life he had known in the past.

Remember The Past

The next morning when the rooster crowed he shook his wife, Rebecca, awake. He told her he was planning to vote for the King in the election. She looked at him in disbelief. “Do you have no memory of the past?” she said. “Do you not remember when the King said, ‘Give me 10% of your crop for 3 years and I will return more than the value to you with interest.’ And when the time came for repayment, what happened” she cried. “He said he would not pay us. It was only the intervention of the Great Court that got us anything.”

“Without the title, the promise of land means nothing. He could take it from us tomorrow” said John’s wife. “We need a voice and the strength of thousands to guarantee our future. We will get the land and with the title but we have to stay strong, stay united” she said. “The lure of the King’s promise made me lose my sense. I know what you say is true.” said John. Rebecca said, “The King will have many tricks in the coming weeks to distract us. We need to keep our eye on the day when the decision will be ours, not the King’s.”