Once there was a little girl who was queen of an island. One day an advisor said to her, “Your majesty, the people on this island are good, but we must beware of the people on the next island for they are our enemies.”
“Our enemies?” responded the queen, “How terrible!”
“Yes, it is terrible,” said the advisor, “for our little island will never be safe while we have enemies. We must find a way to get rid of our enemies!”
“You are quite right,” said the queen. “Do you have any ideas?”
“I do indeed,” said the advisor. “We can take our army, put it on a ship, sail to the other island, and then our army can march on shore and destroy the enemy.”
The queen was not so sure this was a good idea. “Thank you for sharing your ideas,” said the queen, “but I need some more time to think about it all. Can you come back tomorrow?”
“Yes, your majesty,” said the advisor, and he bowed and left the room.
The next day, when the advisor returned to talk to the queen, he was shocked to find her having tea with the queen of the next island. The advisor turned red with anger.
“How can you sit there and drink tea with that person!” he shouted. “She is our enemy! We must get rid of our enemies!”
The queen looked at her advisor with eyes that were calm and steady.
“You have been a good advisor,” she said, “and you were right, we have to get rid of our enemies. You would have me destroy my enemies by conquering them with an army. But the best way to get rid of your enemies is to make them your friends.”