There were once two farmers, working in employ to the king.

One farmer, Bob, was gifted a large plot of farmland, which he plowed and tended, producing a good crop, year after year. While his methods were somewhat new, they were taken from ones originally used by the writers of the Great Manual of Farming. His skills at farming were such that other farmers came to learn from Bob, who published some short tips and and ideas in newsletters to other farmers.

One summer, Bob’s crops were doing so well and were in such good hands that he went from town to town talking about the king (who many had not met) and farming and service to the king. On this trip, he took any money he received to help poor people without water to get some, because he believed that the king would have wanted him to give water to the thirsty and food to the hungry.

The other farmer, Ben, began with a small farm, which he tended faithfully. As time went on, he began to hear about other farmers who were using methods different than he was using, methods that were not traditional to other farmers he knew who also used the Great Manual of Farming. Gradually, Ben became obsessed with Bob and farmers like him, and began to send letters and to spend most of his time complaining loudly about Bob’s farming methods to anyone who would listen to him. One day, Ben woke up and realized that he really didn’t like tending his little farm, but he wanted to spend most of his time speaking out against Bob and other big farmers. However, he would not be able to feed himself and his family if he did what he wanted to do.

So, Ben went out and began to beg for money from other small farmers who were also either jealous of Bob, or who believed that farming was best done by the methods they learned from their grandfathers. When other small farmers suggested that he might be better off tending his farm, Ben ignored them and began berating them along with Bob.

One day, blessedly, the king returned. First, he went to Bob, and said ‘I gave you a big farm. What have you done with it?’

Bob said, ‘I have multiplied that farm seven-fold, and I had enough left over that I was able to feed the poor, give water to the thirsty, and care for the orphans.’

The king said ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share a feast in the royal palace!’

Then, the king went to Ben’s farm, and asked ‘Ben, I gave you a small farm. What have you done with it?’

Ben said, ‘I have taken care of this small farm, just like you asked me to. I also went out across the countryside, decrying the farming techniques Bob was using. He was using machines to till the soil, and not his hands, and he was wasting his time giving food to the poor and water to the thirsty instead of farming the way that is right in my eyes. I would have done more, O King, but I did not have the funds to do so. Why did you not give me more?’

And the king answered, ‘Why would I give you more money to prevent food from being grown and harvested? Have you not already done enough damage?’