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TITLE: Thaddeus; the making of a man.
By Gloria Pierre Dean
09/25/18
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A simple story of the making of a man; with a happy ending.
Prince Thaddeus believed he was invincible.
He was tall and handsome and loved to ride his horse-drawn chariot through the streets of his Uncle's kingdom.
He prided himself on his prowess and his abilities with the sword and won everything he put his mind to do which made his life so much easier than he realised.
A constant smile which was more of a smirk adorned his face. Secretly he was laughing at everyone. He felt sure that he was meant for something great.
As he took his daily rides he looked neither to the left nor right. If he had he would have noticed the people looking at him and many of their glances were not loving ones.
One day everything changed. War was declared by the Chaldeans over land that his people the Medes had stolen from them. The battle went badly for both sides and many were hurt or were killed. He lost a brother.
Prince Thaddeus was wounded in the thigh and was left with a permanent limp. The result was that he no longer felt so invincible.
As a result, after the war, he drove his chariot even more recklessly through the streets and the countryside until the day his horse threw him and ran off. He was about ten miles from the castle gate so he slowly began to limp home. Many of the town dwellers looked at him as he passed by with eyes that were filled with disdain.
On this walk, Prince Thaddeus saw things he had never seen before. It was as though his eyes were opened. He saw the beautiful farmer's markets, the small farms, the neat well kept homes and well-tended flowerbeds. In some instances, he saw acute poverty.
When he arrived at the gate of his castle he was surprised to hear someone call out to him. He looked back to see Nikolai leading a horse towards him.
"Prince T," he said, "Would you like to use this horse to take you the rest of the way home?"
Tears filled Thaddeus' tired eyes. He had dismissed Nickolai from his stables some months ago over a trivial matter and here he was helping him. Nickolai was an excellent horseman.
He was so grateful because his leg ached severely.
"Can I repay you in some way?" he asked him. Nickolai refused gently.
This incident changed him. Days later after getting the king's permission, he appointed Nickolai as an advisor and agent to interact with the town people. He wanted the kingdom to provide help for those who needed help.
The people he had in mind was the poor, the sick and the widows. He also wanted to employ workers to repair homes where needed. In his heart, he did not want to create dependency but to facilitate a sense of worth and well being through hard work and rewards.
Years after their death, Nikolai and the prince were remembered with love by the people of the land.
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