The Princess Dances!

"The princess dances!" the queen announced. All the eyes turned to Salome, the princess. The guests were excited to hear the announcement, for nothing else could make the royal banquet more splendid. They all waited eagerly to watch the adorable moves of the princess.

The most excited was the king himself-- King Herod. It was a banquet to celebrate his birthday. He couldn't even dream that his wife would arrange a dance of the princess. He couldn't believe his ears. His eyes, widely open, fell on the queen. Then he turned his glance at the princess. Yes, she is dressed for the dance. How pretty she looks! Never have my eyes seen such an attractive female all my life, he thought.

How often the king had tried to steal a look at her! But most of the times his wife caught him red-handed. She knew her husband very well, and she was determined not to share her daughter with him. He was her second husband, and she couldn't afford to lose him. Then what on earth could motivate her to arrange such a dance? What could she do if the king divorced her, and married her daughter? How could she risk her own marriage by exhibiting her pretty daughter before the king?

The king came back from his thoughts. It was not the time to get lost in thoughts, but it was a precious chance to experience the gorgeous sight of the prettiest female he had ever seen. She had already started dancing. His eyes were stuck on her. The rhythmic moves of her body along with the accompanying music took him to a world of fantasy. It was an experience he had never known in life.

Salome was leading everyone in the court to an enchanted land, but one person remained unmoved-- her mother. She was playing a game with the king, and her daughter was just a pawn in her hands. She made a move, a very risky move indeed, and she was waiting eagerly for the move from the other side. She was in control of the game, so she could predict the move of the king. She knew that he had already bitten the bait.

After leading the audience to the peak of ecstasy, Salome stopped dancing, and bowed before the king. Oh my! The king exclaimed. He wanted to hold on to that experience forever.

With an uplifted spirit and heart, the king rose from the throne. Walking slowly, he went near Salome, held her hands and said, "Salome, I am greatly pleased with what you have done. I have no words to express my sincere gratitude to you. Now, tell me, what gift shall I give you?"

With her eyes shining, she looked at the king's face and said, "I am overjoyed to hear from your lips that you are pleased with my dance. I have already got my gift. I don't expect anything more, my lord."

"Your words are even sweeter than your dance, Salome," king said. "But I need to give you something as a token of my pleasure and gratitude. You have honored me by performing such a breathtaking dance before me and my guests, and I must give you something in return. A king doesn't accept anything for nothing. You have given me the best you have, and I must give you the best I have. Ask, and I promise to give you whatever you ask. Come on, my girl, do you want half of my kingdom?"

Offering even half of the kingdom was a king's way of saying that he was ready to give generously.

What did the princess need? She had everything she wanted. What more could she ask? She couldn't think of anything to ask. She realized that all the eyes were turned to her lips to hear what she would ask. She looked around and saw looks of admiration. Then she noticed her mother showing a sign to her. She was beckoning her. Oh yes, it is a good chance, she thought. I can discuss the matter with my mom.

"Excuse me, my lord," Salome said. "May I ask your highness to grant me some time to think over it so that I can ask something appropriate? Perhaps, my mom can help me find something."

The king nodded his head to grant permission. Salome moved slowly toward her mother.

The queen waited triumphantly for her daughter. Now there remained only one more move.

She hugged her daughter and said, "You did a nice job, my kid. I am proud of you." Then she led her to an adjacent room and closed the door behind.

"Mom, I don't know what to ask," Salome said. "Besides, you give me whatever I need. Shall I ask something simple just to satisfy the king?"

After being silent for a few seconds, the queen said, "I give you whatever you need, don't I? That means I love you. Now let me ask you this. Do you love me? And do you want me to remain alive happily."

"What are you talking about, mom?" Salome asked. "I can't even imagine a life without you. I love you so much, and I will do whatever I can for you to remain happy and healthy."

"My life is in danger, my kid," the queen said. "Not only mine, yours as well as the king's. Do you think we can live happily and peacefully if all the people in the kingdom call me a whore, and you a whore’s daughter?"

"I don't understand what you are talking about, Mom," Salome said.

"There lives a wretched creature who dared to call me a whore. I can't sleep peacefully until I see his head separated from his body to make sure that his bloody mouth is shut forever."

Salome understood who she was referring to-- John, a man in rags. People called him the baptizer. One day, soon after the king married her mother, she heard someone shouting in front of the palace. Looking through the window, she saw some guards restraining a man. He was saying something loudly about God, judgment, and such other things. Later she heard from a guard that he was accusing her mother for marrying the king while her husband was alive. She couldn’t imagine how a beggar could dare to raise his voice against the king and the queen.

"I wanted his head to be cut off on the very spot," the queen continued. "But the king was not willing. That idiot was simply put in prison. As he is widely accepted as a prophet of God, the king would lose the support of the people if he is killed-- that was the justification of the king for not killing him. But if that creature remains alive, he will spread the idea that the king and I have committed adultery. Can you imagine what would be its result? Not only that the king would lose support, but also that the people would start casting stones at us."

The words of the queen plunged deep into the mind of Salome forcefully. Marrying another person while his/her spouse is alive is such a serious crime according to the petty moral code of this land, Salome thought. Anyone with a little common sense can see that it is a stupid rule. If two people can’t agree with each other, how senseless it is for them to live together as husband and wife! Her mother couldn’t agree with her father, so she divorced him. How does she become adulterous for that? Isn’t it high time to replace this rotten moral code with some sensible one?

Then she knew exactly what gift to ask for. She opened the door and walked with firm steps toward the king. To confirm the king’s promise, she asked, "Will you give me anything I ask?"

"Yes, I have already told you. I shall give you even half of my kingdom," the king said.

"I don't want the kingdom, but I need something in a plate," she said.

The king was amused at her request. "In a plate?" he asked. "If it is ornaments that you want, I can give you a roomful of ornaments made of gold and precious stones. You don’t have to limit it to a plate."

"Not ornaments, I am interested in something else," she said.

"Come on, Salome, just don't make me impatient. Speak it out. What is your wish?" he asked.

"I want the head of a man," she said.

"Oh, that is it," the king said. "You mean you want to marry a man? I should have guessed it. Do you have someone in your mind?"

"I am not speaking about marriage," she said. "What I ask for is the head of a man in a plate."

The king was shocked for a moment as if by a thorn prick.

"You mean the head of a man cut off from the body?" the king asked.

She nodded in response.

"Is it a joke?" he asked. "What are you going to do with somebody's head? What is wrong with you, Salome? Ask for something sensible."

"There is nothing wrong with me," she said. "I dared to ask it only because you promised even half of the kingdom. Do you want to withdraw your promise?"

That was a challenge. The king looked around at the guests. He was not sure to what trap she was leading him.

"Alright, alright," he said. "Tell me exactly what you need."

"There lives a man, whose very existence is a threat to the happiness and well-being of your highness, of the queen, and of me. He is a prisoner called John. I want him to be killed, and I need his head in a plate," Salome said.

The guests were shocked to hear her words. They couldn’t believe their ears. They looked at one another in disbelief, and wished if they had not been there.

The king stared at Salome. Then slowly he turned his eyes at the queen. He realized how cunningly he was trapped. If he couldn’t fulfill the promise made to Salome before all the guests, his words would not have any more value, and he couldn’t expect anybody to treat him with respect.

He had put John the baptizer in prison, but without any intention of killing him. He remembered the day when John publicly rebuked him for marrying Herodias while her husband was alive. John’s words still rang in his ears:

"How could you do such an abominable thing, Oh king, and how on earth can you walk around shamelessly with this whore? How could you forget that there is a God above, the king of kings, before whom nothing is hidden! I have only a bad news for you: The wrath of God is going to fall on you heavily."

Herodias felt the insult instantly. She would have chopped off his head then and there if the king had not held her back. It was such a shame for her to be insulted publicly. The king, however, restrained his anger. He knew that John was accepted by a large number of people as a prophet of God. So, he didn’t want to evoke the anger of the people by killing John. However, he decided to arrest him and put him in prison just to prevent him from talking further in public.

Now, the king had a tough choice to make-- either to break his own word of promise, or to grant the gift Salome asked. Finally, he decided to choose the latter, and sent a palace guard with necessary instructions.

John, who had been in prison for several months, was in the line of the great prophets of Israel. His convictions were strong enough to make him speak out what he believed to be true without any fear. He rebuked even the king of the land in the name of God, the king of kings. As the spokesmen of the heavenly king, the prophets of Israel used to get into the courts of kings to remind them that they were under the supreme king of the universe.

John believed that God was soon going to take over the rule of the world, which would be known as the kingdom of God. A person would be appointed by God as the king of the world, and he would rule the world with the might of God. John described himself a person who paved the way for the king. The rule of the divine king would not be like that of any other king in history. With the aid of divine knowledge, he would have the ability to judge people without any error. Nothing would be hidden from him including the most secret thoughts and feelings in human hearts. There would not be any partiality in his judgment. One's color, race, gender, possessions, or positions would not affect the judgment in any way. The only criterion for judging would be whether they followed God’s laws or not.

It was this conviction which made John rebuke the king openly for marrying Herodias. A king is the most responsible person in a nation. His behavior should be a model for all the people in the nation to follow. How can he keep law and order if he himself disobeys laws? A king can have the temptation to disobey laws disregarding the presence of the king of kings. So there needs someone to remind him that there is a God, the universal king, whom all kings have to be afraid of.

Family has been the most stable and sacred social institution since the beginning of human race. If family is broken, a meaningful existence will be difficult, and human survival would be in peril. Therefore, family relations should be kept intact at any circumstances. If someone is allowed to divorce his/her spouse and marry another person, it will break the existing structure of the society. By marrying a woman with husband, the king, the one person who is the most responsible for the stability and growth of the nation, has broken the very foundation of the social structure. That will soon become the ideal behavior, and all people will start doing it.

Before going to the palace and speaking to the king, John knew that it was a risk, for he might lose his life. But he was ready for that. He was ready to sacrifice his own life to avoid the destruction of the whole community. Moreover, John believed that he would be answerable to God if he would not point out the mistake of the king. The king did it because he had been ignorant of the invisible universal judge before whom nothing is hidden. John, who was aware of it, would be more responsible than the king if he remained silent.

Thus, being true to his position as the ambassador of the universal king, he went to Herod’s palace and told him that he had done an abominable deed against God and the people of the nation. Immediately, he was caught and put in prison.

Months had passed now. John couldn’t understand why he had been kept there without being killed.

When a guard unlocked and opened the door, John was lying down calmly on his mat on the floor. He had a sword in one hand and a plate in the other. Putting them aside, he came closer to John and said in a low voice: "I am sorry John, I am assigned to separate your head and take it to the king. To tell you the truth, I don’t want to do it because never have I had a chance to meet such a great person like you in all my life. Tell me John, can you think of a way for me to save you? If I fail to take your head to the king, surely I will lose my own head."

"Don't worry about it, my brother," John said. "This is something I have always expected. I am happy that finally the time has come. Don't feel sorry about it. You are only doing your job. If you don’t do it, somebody else will do it. Just do me a favor: Please separate my head at a single stroke."

He placed his head on the plate and closed his eyes. Before long, the princess got the gift she asked for. 

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