Long ago, a king had several horses. They were all kept well groomed and taken to a river near the city for a bath. But the King sent his finest horse to a pool near the river. The pool had sparkling clean water. The horse attendants gave special treatment to the King᾿s favourite horse.
One day, when the King᾿s horse was taken for a bath, the horse refused to enter the pool. Earlier in the day, a very dirty horse had been washed in that pool and the water was fouled up and smelling bad. The King’s horse was very particular about the bath being clean. So, he simply would not have a bath in the dirty water.
The attendants tried everything they could but the horse refused to budge. Finally, the matter reached the King’s ears. He was equally puzzled. He called his minister and asked him to enquire into the reason for his horse’s strange behaviour.
The minister started to look into everything. The horse was found to be in perfect health by the royal veterinary doctor. The horse᾿s food was monitored properly. The attendants fed and groomed him very well. Then the minister went with them to the pool.
As usual, the horse reared and refused to go near the water. The minister went close to the pool and looked in. The water was a little muddy and there was a faint, bad smell coming from it. It seemed as if something or someone else had used that water.
“Has anyone else had a bath here?” the minister asked the attendant, turning around.
The attendant was having a tough time controlling the horse. As soon as he had him back on his feet, he replied, “Sir, I was told that some villager from one of the nearby villages had brought a wild dirty horse here for a bath yesterday.”
The minister realized that he had found the solution to the problem. “Let us take this horse up the river a little and see if he agrees to go into the water,” he asked the attendant.
The attendant followed the minister and, leading the horse, went up the river. There, the water was fresh and clean. He led the horse to the water. The horse sniffed and then stepped in happily. The attendant was relieved that the horse was no longer running away from his bath. The minister smiled. Then he returned to tell the King that the enquiries had been successful and that his favourite horse was having a bath. Cleanliness was important, even to a horse!
