The Beggar Prince
Value: The Lost
Explanation to teachers and parents. I do not usually have to explain the theme
of a children’s story but this one may be misinterpreted. In this story of a
prince who is lost from his kingdom, it might be easy to interpret the prince as
being Jesus himself, the son of the King who came to live with us on sinful
earth. But that is not the intent of this story. The prince represents each of
us as children of God who are not aware that our father is the King and
deliberately do not enter into our inheritance and remain lost in the squalor
and poverty of sin. JM
“THE SON OF THE KING IS LOST!” The cry went out from runners on horseback who
galloped through every street, every village, every field and forest of the
kingdom with the terrible news. Young prince Roger was missing. The King was
frantic to find his only son. Posters showing his face were up on every tree and
wall that could bear his image. The reward as more than most peasants could even
count much less inherit and the search for the child royalty was the all that
the people of the kingdom could talk about.
Even in the beggar’s village, the anxiety for the lost prince was noticeable.
While the poor, the homeless, the sick and the outcasts that were citizens of
this village were often too absorbed with survival and finding safe and peaceful
places to sleep and eat, the thought of their beloved prince being lost, stolen
or dead was heartbreaking to them. The prince was the darling of the kingdom. At
only twelve, every boy wanted to be him, every girl his future bride and every
parent his future in laws..
Godfrey lived in the beggar village with his uncle Sven although he rarely saw
his Uncle because he was often off finding food for them or trying to get honest
work. So Godfrey had time in the village to make friends and even play, like the
other boys and girls of rich people could do. To a beggar a rich person is just
someone with a real mom and dad, a house to live in, clothes that were clean and
new, a school to go to and enough to eat not to mention presents at Christmas.
Godfrey went down to the “playground” which was an area of the city that various
boxes, tubes and broken toys that were thrown away by people who were not
beggars threw away were gathered for the children to play with during the day.
Uncle Sven organized this playground so somebody made sure the things there were
“safe” or as safe as a playground in a beggars village could be. As Godfrey was
trying to take apart a broken tool, he looked up and saw a boy he did not
recognize. He walked over to introduce himself.
“Hello, my name is Godfrey. Who are you?”
“I don’t know.” The boy answered mysteriously.
“What do you mean you don’t know? You know your name and who you live with don’t
you?” Godfrey objected.
“No. I forgot everything. I don’t know my name and I don’t live with anyone.
Someone found me wandering on the streets of Kingdom City and they brought me
here because they said beggars have to live here. I don’t think I have a name. I
am not anybody.”
Godfrey found this new boy very strange. Even beggars usually know who they are.
But instead of being nosey, the boys just played together and became friends.
They met every day and made up games from the thrown away junk that was kept in
the beggar’s playground. One day they were walking on the roads outside the
beggar’s village when Godfrey saw one of the signs for the lost prince.
Instantly he stopped and stared.
“What’s wrong, Godfrey” the boy with no name asked.
“Look, there on the sign is a drawing of the Prince of the Kingdom who is lost.
Look at it. That drawing looks just like you.” Both boys stared but the nameless
boy could not see it. It was clear as can be to Godfrey that the nameless boy
looked exactly like Prince Roger.
“Well I am not Prince Roger.” The nameless boy objected. “Look at me. Do I look
or act like a prince? If I had run away from the castle, wouldn’t I be in
prince’s clothing? Wake up Godfrey. I don’t think there even is a Prince or a
King or a Kingdom. Everybody is just rotting away in their own beggars villages
every where.”
How could Godfrey get the lost and forgetful Prince Roger to look up and see who
he really is? He seemed so down, so lost, so convinced that the very real path
to salvation and glories and riches just did not exist when Godfrey knew full
well it did. The next day, they were exploring unopened cans in the playground
when Godfrey spotted a glimmer under the lost boy’s shirt.
“Let me look at something.” He warned the nameless boy. “Don’t get nervous, I
won’t hurt you.” And he put his hand under the collar of his shirt and found a
chain. Pulling it up there was a bright gold medallion hanging from the solid
silver chain. “Look at this. Did you know this was there?” Godfrey asked.
“No, it’s a surprise to me.” The boy answered.
“Look at it. Its solid gold and the chain is silver. Look at the inscription. It
says ‘To my precious only son Roger’ and the symbol on it is the symbol of the
King. Can’t you see? The King has put his mark on you that you will be his royal
son forever and this mark can give you your inheritance. We just have to get you
back to the King.” Godfrey explained with a voice that was both excited and full
of compassion for the lost boy.
“Well ok. I’ll play your little game if you want me to.” The lost prince finally
conceded but not with very much conviction. Godfrey asked some people and found
out how to make his way to Kingdom City. He got a little food and the two beggar
boys made their way to the home of the King. Once there, Godfrey was able to
find back alleys and passageways to get the lost Prince to the gate of the
palace. There he told his friend to just walk into the courtyard and his friend
did as he was asked to do.
“IT’S THE PRINCE!” The hubbub went up like a riot. The excitement shot through
the castle and far off in the castle walls, Godfrey could hear the King shouting
“MY SON? MY SON HAS COME BACK TO ME? BRING HIM TO ME?” and the love in that
father’s voice almost made Godfrey cry. Godfrey repeated his route back out of
Kingdom City and into the quiet Beggars village and went to the playground to
think but when he got there, he was shocked at what he saw. There sat the royal
King Roger, in his old beggar’s clothes playing with a stone.
“Why are you here?” Godfrey asked terribly upset that the prince was not at home
with his family. “You are Prince Roger. You should be on the throne, ruling the
universe with your father.” He cried.
“Godfrey, I appreciate your efforts but that was all just a game. There is no
King, no Kingdom and I am just a beggar, just like you.” He said and that
depressed statement of blindness to his royal inheritance upset Godfrey so much,
he went home where his Uncle Sven was home at last from his work. Godfrey told
his Uncle all about the Prince and how they had traveled to the King but the
Prince just could not understand his inheritance.
“Well it’s like all of us sometimes, Godfrey.” Uncle Sven said lovingly. “We are
all Children of God and are heirs to His vast fortunes. The cattle of every hill
are His and He want us to live in his love and joy but so many times we live in
sin and poverty, refusing to see the wealth that is already ours. Go and get the
young prince. We will feed him and care for him and pray for him that God will
open his eyes to who he really is, the son of the most high King.”
Godfrey did that and along the way he prayed for himself and the other beggars
and for all of us that all of us would understand who we really are, the
children of the Master of the Universe and the sons and daughters of a God who
will give all to us, if we will just live with him and let him live in us.