The Queen & the Rancher
A Rancher Comes into Conflict with His Business
Not long ago there was a man who worked hard and became very wealthy as a rancher.
And the rancher had hundreds of fine horses. And he got an idea that he would rent his horses out to all of the people in the city to use.
The rancher went to the queen and asked if he could provide the city this service. And the queen said “Yes. But only on the condition that there be none exempt of this freedom. Lest we be partial amongst our people.”
And the rancher thought this was good. So he started renting out his horses. And his service was completely open and receptive to all citizens.
The freedom of owning a horse was once exclusive to only the wealthy, but was now receptive to all. And this was a great freedom that allowed for things to come about that had never before existed.
And so, out of this new complete freedom came a generation of many good things. New services and businesses that required horses came about that never before existed. There were messenger services, delivery services, shipping services, chauffeuring services, horse grooming services, wagon building services, and many others. There were so many that it transformed the entire economy of the city.
And people now had the freedom to visit loved ones out of the country. And even people with very little money now had the freedom to start farms and ranches themselves , whereas before the initial investment in horses was too high.
But one day the rancher rented out four of his horses to two beggars. And the two beggars rented the horses for one day, but a week went by and they had not returned.
It was then brought to his attention by some townsfolk that the two beggars were known thieves who had been arrested before.
So, the rancher went to the queen and said “I would like to limit my services to only those who are not beggars and have not been arrested”. And the queen, meaning well, said “Nay. Your services must receive all. Be tolerant of those less privileged. Lest we be partial amongst our people.”
The rancher was concerned. But many in the city shamed him for his intolerance of beggars, and called him greedy for his complaint of losing two of his hundreds of fine horses. So, he went back to his ranch and continued to offer his service to all.
A week later he rented four horses out to a group of four wanderers. And the four wanderers rented the horses for only one day, but a week went by and he had not heard from them.
It was then brought to his attention by some of the townsfolk that the four wanderers had sacrificed his four horses to a strange god in a strange ritual, and left their remains in a nearby field.
So, the rancher went to the queen and said “I want to limit my services to only those who do not worship strange gods or perform strange rituals.” And the queen, meaning well, said “Nay. Your services must receive all. Be tolerant of those with other practices. Lest we be partial amongst are people.”
And then the rancher was shamed by many in the city for his intolerance of wanderers, the strange gods they worshipped, and the strange rituals they performed.
Now, the rancher wanted to close his business. But he thought about all of the good things his service brought into being, and how if he stopped they would all become nothing. And he thought about all of the good citizens that would lose the freedom they enjoyed in renting horses. So, the rancher kept his services wide open and receptive to all.
Then one night the two thieves from before returned, but this time with a great band of thieves. They slew the rancher, his wife, and his children, took all of his horses, and burned his ranch down to ashes.
The rancher became nothing. His family became nothing. His ranch became nothing. His service became nothing. All of the good things that sprang from his service became nothing. And the complete freedom that came from being able to rent horses became nothing.
But such things were common. For in those days, there was no king in the city, and everyone did what was right in the queen’s eyes.
