A long long time ago… in a kingdom far, far away… there was a king whose power and wealth were as enormous as the sadness that accompanied him every day.
He had everything and even so he could not be happy, he always felt that something was missing. One day, tired of so much suffering, he announced that he would give half of his kingdom to whoever managed to restore happiness.
Following the announcement, all the court advisers began to seek a cure. They brought the most prestigious sages, the most famous magicians, the best healers ... they even looked for the funniest jesters, but it was all useless, nobody knew how to make a king who had everything happy.
When, after many weeks, everyone had already given up, an old sage appeared at the palace and claimed to have the answer:
If there is a completely happy man in the kingdom, you can heal the king. You just have to find someone who, in his day to day, is satisfied with what he has, who always shows a sincere smile on his face, who is not envious of the belongings of others ... And when you find him, ask for his shoes and bring them to the palace. Once here, your majesty must walk a whole day in those shoes. I assure you that the next morning he will be cured ».
The king gave his approval and all the advisers began the search.
But something that at first seemed easy turned out not to be so easy: for the man who was rich was ill; he who was in good health was poor; the one who had money and was healthy at the same time, complained about his partner, or about his children, or about work… They finally realized that everyone was missing something to be totally happy.
After many days of searching, a messenger arrived at the palace to announce that they had finally found a happy man. It was a humble peasant who lived in one of the poorest and most remote areas.
The king, upon hearing the news, sent for the lucky man's shoes. He told them to give him whatever he asked for in return.
The messengers began a long journey and, after several weeks, presented themselves again to the monarch.
"Well tell me, have you succeeded?" Have you located the peasant?
"Your Majesty, we have good news and bad news." The good news is that we have found the man and he is indeed happy. We were watching him and we saw the illusion in his gaze at every moment of the day. We spoke to him and he received us with a wide smile and the joy reflected in his eyes ...
"And the bad one?" The king asked impatiently.
"That he had no shoes."