That night, a man wearing a large black cloak crept out of the castle. He went down to the main road and began digging, and finally rolled something very heavy onto the road.

Early in the morning the king went to a castle window from which he could view the marketplace. A strange sight greeted his eyes. In the middle of the road sat a big rock. A large crowd of people had gathered around the rock. The king smiled and said, “I will soon know who is concerned about the well-being of others and the kingdom.”

All day people, wagons, horsemen, and great knights and nobles passed the rock. Some stopped to shout angrily at the rock in the road. Some even kicked it, but no one made any effort to move the rock.

The day slowly passed. Every hour the king would go to his window to see if the rock had been moved out of the way, but all day long it stood blocking the road.

As the sun began to set, the sad king walked over once more to look out his window. Will anyone be thoughtful enough to move the rock? he wondered.

Just then an elderly shepherd could be seen bringing his sheep up the road.

“What is this big rock doing on the road?” the old shepherd asked. “It’s in the way! I should move it so that people can pass here freely.”

It was hard work for the aged shepherd to move the rock, but he used his big staff to move it and slowly rolled it to the side, off the road.

To the shepherd’s surprise, there was a small wooden box in a hole in the ground under where the rock had blocked the road. He picked up the box and found it opened easily and was filled with pieces of gold!

Inside there was a letter. He unfolded the letter and read these words:

To the person who cares enough for others to move this stone out of the way: This gold is for you!
In appreciation,
His Majesty, the King

“He who is kind to the poor [someone in need] lends to the LORD and he will reward him for what he has done” (Proverbs 19:17 NIV).