Earnest looked down, biting his lip. "What is the matter?" asked the king. "Is this one too hard for you?"

The boy shook his head. "Can't you all tell who this was about? It was about us- all of us. The elite. We tell our citizens to trust us with so much- down to the distribution of food. So where is the justice in how the system works? None of our farmers live in a rich palace. They supply us with food and money in taxes, trusting that we'll use it wisely- then what really happens with that money and food? We fill our treasuries, stuff our faces- and they starve."

The king looked down as well. "It... well it can't just be that simple, can it? There will always be rich and poor."

"And what right do we have to determine who that will be? Maybe we have too much power, maybe we're not using it right, but outsides these walls- I've seen it father. Our subjects live on much less than we do, and we require them to give us a massive portion of what they make."

"So we can fill the store houses for famine."

"Yes, and when famine strikes- who gets the lion's share of the food? We, the noblest of men- we never go without. We never go with less. We're not partnering with our people, we're stealing from them." Earnest sighed. "The Lizard King is God, sitting in judgment of our greed... I solved the riddle. Can I go now?"

The king put his chin on his fist. "I... yes I think we may both have thinking to do- everyone is dismissed."

Days later, the king saw his son walking the dogs outside the palace grounds. Instead of calling attention to himself, the king stowed his crown and put on a dark cloak, following his child as the boy went. He wanted to know what the boy was about for himself.

Hours of walking, the boy finally came to the home of the farmer who bred their four dogs.

The boy whistled for the farmer and his the two children out working with him.

The farmer ran quickly to the fence, knelt in the dirt and mud before the prince, along with his children.

"Rise," said the boy. "Why did you give us four dogs?"

The farmer looked down at the pets, all of whom whined, bowing their heads and acting as though they were straining to run to their first master.

'To their true master,' the king thought. 'I have a feeling where this is going.'

"How much are they worth- each?"

"I'm sorry if they're not to standard my prince, the litter was small this year. I can have more in a few month- please I-"

"No- how much are they worth?"

The true master looked at his dogs, each of them wagging their tails as his gaze fell on them. He smiled at them gently. "Priceless if well trained I'd imagine. But their value as puppies was six silver each."

The prince reached into his satchel and rummaged around for a few minutes while the farmer waited, then pulled out a sack. "For three dogs." He grabbed the hands of the farmer and deposited the money with him. The prince then called back to his hounds. "Susan," Susan came away from her siblings. He then turned to the man. "Call her to you- she's yours again. It's not right for us to have taken a whole litter for three people."

The farmer smiled as one of his children jumped up and down in glee, calling the dog to her. "Jennie! Come!"

The young dog left for her once true little mistress, knocking her over in a playful greeting as the prince watched on with a kind smile on his face. "If it seems fair- I'm keeping my mother's dog, even if she is gone."

"By all means your highness," the farmer said with a short and obviously grateful bow. The man then looked around. "Your highness- I think... yes, I think I would like to share something with you." The boy looked at him curiously.

The farmer whistled loudly towards his barn. A large and skinny dog came out, it's speed like unto the fastest of birds- or even faster, firing across the fields to the side of his master, covering the ground between the farmer and his home- some hundred or so meters- in what seemed like seconds. The creature stopped on a dime.

"This- this is my pride and joy. Fastest breed on earth. I had to scratch and scrounge so much just to buy one- and with the sale from Jennie and this money you just gave me back- I might actually have enough to buy him a mate."

The princes eyes went wide. "We could have-"

"Please don't tell your father. I can't pay the taxes on this payment AND get the new dog I..." on these words he fell prostrate on the ground, seeing the king come and stand behind his son, removing his dark cloak. "I'm sorry, I did not mean it for a crime- your highness, imagine a liter of these dogs and-"

"I could have you arrested for evading my taxes- you know the law and yet you plot with my own flesh and blood to dodge it. Seventy percent of each sale."

The farmer spoke into the ground. "I took advantage of his generosity- I'm sorry sire. Please I-"

"Father stop, I beg you."

"He is cheating us-"

"And how do you expect him to act when his leader does no better?" Earnest snapped. The king paused. "Did you not understand who the lizard king was?"

"The story? He was God."

"No father, maybe he ultimately was, but he could also be seen as just a man. Just a man who was fair to his subjects. Father, just imagine. Imagine if we let these people take pride in what they make. What if we worked with these people instead of taking from them like slaves."

The king gritted his teeth, but looked towards the horizon for a few moments.

"Rise," the king said, folding his arms. The farmer's two daughters quickly hid behind the legs of their father.

The king looked over the farmer's land. "You know how much your family eats in a year?"

"Sire- I'm said I was sorry, don't cut us off from the store houses-"

"Tell me- out with it. Do you know?"

"I do..."

"And your neighbors- your fellows would know that as well?"

"It... it would take some calculating sire."

"Very well- I expect to see the estimates. You will be given gold from the treasury to build store houses on your lands. Your gold taxes are here by reduced to ten percent, your food is your own to barter and sell, and to you and each of your fellows shall be returned enough food for several months."

"But sire... I'm not a man of education, but how much is even in the royal store rooms?"
"They are my store rooms, that is my business!" The farmer stumbled back at this. "I... no that's not right. You provided the food, did you not? It is not fair that I withhold the truth. This will empty my store houses. The royal store houses will be... demolished. Having all the store houses in one place was foolish. Fill your own store rooms for your communities. This should ensure everyone has enough- plus it should make it so our stores are less vulnerable to disaster."

"And set aside the best for you and yours?"

"I never said that- you already give us the best anyway."

"Um..."

"What?"

"Well I should tell you now- I like this plan your highness and- you may start seeing better food from me in the future- just to say that-"

"Speak no more on this matter!" The king shouted. The farmer stumbled back. "Seriously- don't, you could get in trouble- but do get that census I asked for and spread word of the new system. The food you produce is yours first, not mine."

The man grinned, counting the money he had been given. "Ten percent of this sale is-"

"No- pay me on a schedule you shall work out with your community. Besides- regarding my home now," he looked towards the palace. "I think I've taken more than I am owed. Take that payment from my son as a return for over payment. It was money you made, so it belongs to you." The king started walking away, taking his son.

After a few minutes of walking, the king heard the farmer shout after him. "Sire!"

The king turned on his heel, a glare on his face. "Do not take this kindness as a chance to take advantage-"

"Father- please, he doesn't look hostile."

The man bowed his head, then looked up again. "Sire- please come to my farm again in about six months. By that point, I should have a litter of gray hound puppies for you, each worth their weight in gold."

The king smiled. "And I shall have that much gold to give you."

The king and prince turned around again. The prince smiled, hearing the shouting for joy and calling for his neighbors. The king heard the shouts as well.

The king's heart was troubled. What he had just decreed was binding, as it was said in front of his own flesh and blood. Was this foolish? Allow the men of the kingdom to own what they produced? This would take him down quite a ways- make him that much closer to even being an equal with that farmer he just finished speaking to.

The king whispered under his breath. "So... what now? Tell me Lord- will foolishness destroy my land? Or will I really become that lizard?"