All the people of all the lands had gathered by the ceremonial grounds on the shore of the great ocean.
The ocean waves were stronger than ever before. They were bigger and faster and crashed harder and further inland.
The people were in awe. The people did not know what to do. Some were in fear. It was a time of anxiety.
3 men summoned the courage to find a solution.
The first was strong. He used his strength and courage to stand against the waves and flail about, trying to beat back the waves with his bare hands. Alas, the waves were too strong and he soon fell tired, was washed away and drowned.
The second had seen this approach. He chose to build a barrier, a great wall built from felled trees along the shore. But soon, the continuous waves were too much for his wall; it was washed away, too.
The third man had been in quiet contemplation. The people wondered why he had not taken action as the first against the water, or began to build like the second, but instead had remained still, thinking, but not speaking.
Finally, the third man went forth and produced a single piece of wood from the forest, not the massive trees of the second, but just one specific piece which he carved into a long flat board. With this he set out into the water – casting himself amongst the waves as the people tried to stop him, thinking he, too, would be lost like the first man.
Only then did he reveal his plan, through his actions, as he rose upon the board and rode the waves to and fro, using their energy, using their force to the delight of all the people. The people thought this was very clever; the people saw that he alone saw not an instrument of fear and awe before them, but an instrument of awe and wonder –not to fight against, but to use for their benefit, for their amusement.
For this, they made him king.
