There are multiple versions of this story. I do not know which was the actual one and when or where it originated. But this is one of the many stories that I heard from my grandmother and one of the very few that I can still remember clearly. Hence, I am narrating the same story that I heard from my grandma many years back.
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Once upon a time, there was a small kingdom in the northern part of India, known as Champak Nagar. Champak Nagar was ruled by a benevolent ruler who was wise and brave. He ruled for many years and grew old. One day, he thought that the time had come to choose the next king.
The old king had three sons. So he decided to talk to all of his sons to find out which one was the worthiest among them. First, he called his elder son and conversed with him for hours. He talked about literature, history, politics, geography, battle strategies, and ethics. The king was utterly disappointed as his elder son was very lazy and used to spend most of his time drinking wine and sleeping. He knew nothing about the world or statesmanship and was not at all worthy of the crown .
At last, the king asked him, "How much do you love me?"
The elder son replied, "I love you more than the best wine available in the world". The king was pleased with the answer and gave him ten thousand gold coins and made him governor of a small province.
Then the king called the second son and started to converse with him just like before. The king realised that the second son was very greedy. This son also knew nothing about statesmanship, and moreover, he was unjust, cruel, and selfish. The disheartened king asked his second son the same question, " How much do you love me?"
"I love you more than the largest and brightest diamond in the world", answered the second son. The king was pleased with the answer and gave him ten thousand gold coins and made him governor of another small province.
Then the king called for his youngest son. He was meek, kind, brave, and wise. The king was extremely pleased with him. "He should be the next king", the old king thought after talking to him for hours. Finally, he asked him the same question, "How much do you love me?"
"I love you like a pinch of salt", answered the youngest prince. The king could not believe his own ears. He took it as an insult and burst into anger. Without thinking, he expelled his youngest son from his kingdom and instructed his army chief to kill the prince if he ever dared to enter the boundaries of the kingdom.
The younger prince could not get any chance to explain and had no other choice but to accept his father's decision. Although he was sad, he thought that the gods had given him an opportunity to see the world. So, he began his journey and walked for days and months. He travelled many places and saw many wonders. At last, he reached a country called Ananda Nagar. He was very tired, and slept under a tree at night.
In the morning, he saw that everyone was hurriedly heading somewhere. He asked one man with a large moustache, "Where are you all going in this early morning?" The man replied, "Our king passed away three days ago without any heir. The head priest has announced that he would release a divine white crow today. The crow would choose the next king by sitting on his shoulder. We are all heading towards the palace with the hope of becoming the next king."
The youngest prince was amused by this information and decided to go to the palace to witness the event. At a specific moment, the head priest released the divine white bird, and, by surprise to all, the crow flew directly towards the prince and sat on his right shoulder. The younger prince was chosen as the new king. Slowly, everyone began to see that the new king was even better than the earlier kings. He was just, polite, and wise. He started to work for the betterment of his people and brought peace,wealth, and happiness to the kingdom.
One day, the young prince decided to invite his father, the king of Champak Nagar, to his own kingdom. But he instructed his messenger not to reveal his identity to the old king. The king of Champak Nagar gladly accepted the invitation. After a few days, the old king came to the kingdom of the youngest son. But the youngest son did not reveal his true identity and kept his face covered with a golden mask. The old king was surprised to see that, but he preferred not to ask anything.
As per the instruction of the youngest son, the royal chef cooked many delicious dishes. But he did not add salt to any of them. The old king could not eat anything at dinner as the food was absolutely tasteless. The same thing happened the next morning, during breakfast. There was a lot of food, but all of it was tasteless.
This time, the old king asked one of the servants to fetch some salt. As per the instruction, the servant politely replied that by the king's order, he was not permitted to add salt to the food. The old king became very angry and started to shout at him. At that time, the youngest son came there with his face covered by the golden mask as usual. He asked the servant to bring some salt, and then he himself added a pinch of salt to the soup and politely requested the king to have that.
The king was very hungry as he had not eaten anything last night. The soup also had excellent flavour, and a perfect taste after adding a pinch of salt. The king virtually swallowed the entire soup with utter satisfaction. Now the younger prince removed the mask from his face and started to laugh. The old king understood everything after seeing his youngest son, and he also started to laugh.
He understood that the pinch of salt was just an analogy. As food has no taste without salt, similarly, life is meaningless without true love and respect. No man can ever be happy, even with all the riches, if there is no love. Even a little selfless love can bring hope and drastic changes in life.
The old king was extremely happy to see his favourite younger son as he repented for his own hasty decision after expelling him from the kingdom. The youngest son explained to his father how he had been chosen by the divine bird as the new king. The old king was very proud of his son because of his wisdom and achievements. So, the king announced that after him, his youngest son would rule both the Champak Nagar and the Ananda Nagar.
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