The King and the Ring

A king asked one of his most trusted advisers to search far and wide for a ring that would make a happy man sad when he looked at it and a sad man happy when he looked at it. The king was convinced that no such ring existed but still wanted his adviser to search for it. So his adviser set off and travelled far and wide but was not able to find such a ring. Discouraged, he rested in a small village. When he looked around him, he saw an old man who was selling trinkets and the like. He approached the old man and asked him if he had such a ring. The old man then rummaged through his bag and took out a simple gold ring that was engraved with four words. He offered it to the adviser, whose face immediately lit up. The adviser thanked the old man and bought the ring. He then made his way home. When he reached the palace, he proceeded to have an audience with the king. He told the king the good news and showed the king the ring. The king looked at it and scoffed and laughed. How could such a simple ring have so much power? But when he looked closely at the ring, he was chastened and turned reflective. For on the ring were these words: This, too, shall pass.