There was a great alarm in the palace, which soon spread through the entire city. The Queen had lost her crown, and it could not be found. The people searched in every direction, but the crown was nowhere to be found.
Half distracted, because of the missing crown the Queen rechecked her work to find her precious crown, but without result. As a last resource, it was shouted in the public streets: "The Queen has lost her precious crown. Whoever finds it within thirty days shall receive a princely reward. But he who waits, and brings it after thirty days, shall lose his head."
In those times news spread quickly; people from all over the world came to help the Queen find her crown. Among them was a doctor, a wise man from the East, who loved goodness, and lived an honest life in the craziness of the western world. One night as he was walking up and down, in busy thought, beneath the clear, moonlit sky, he saw the crown sparkling at his feet. He grabbed it quickly and brought it to his home, where he guarded it carefully until the thirty days had gone by, when he thought to return it to the owner.
On the thirtieth day, he walked to the palace, and acting calmly even at sight of long lines and officials, asked for a meeting with the Queen.
“What do you mean by this?" the Queen asked when he told her his story and gave her the crown. "Why did you delay to this day? Don’t you know the penalty? Your head must be taken."
"I waited until now," the doctor answered calmly, "so that you would know that I return your crown, not for the sake of the reward, but to be honest. I do not wish to keep from another person the property which belongs to them."
"Blessed are you!" the Queen answered, and let the doctor go without any punishment. He taught the Queen and the people of the world a good lesson that day.
