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60 the king and the Olitcast THE KING OF THE WITTINS, driving through the park with his nobles, came upon a crowd near one of the lakes. When he asked the cause of their assembly, a woman who stood apart from the others said, "My husband drowned himself, and his body has now washed ashore." "Why should anybody drown himself when life is so splendid?" asked the king. [ 116 ] The woman showed the identifying marks on her wrists, and said, "We are outcasts, as you see. Nobody is allowed to touch us or even to speak to us in a friendly way. We stand aside when others pass us in the road, and we must not complain when they spit on us." The king was silent, and the woman went on: "Life is hard for all, but for us it was unbearable. We had no food much of the time; we were alone; we had nothing to look forward to but degradation and pain. My husband could no longer endure this existence, and he killed himself~ as you see." The king turned to his nobles. "Do people spit on you in the streets? Do they drive you away with curses when you come too close?" "No, Your Majesty. That never happens." The king spoke to his handsome coachmen: "Do you stand aside while others pass you on the road? Do you find life insecure?" "No, Your Majesty," said the coachmen. The king turned to the woman and said, "You've heard my questions and their answers. Isn't it plain now that you and your husband only imagined these things?" The woman covered her head and walked away, not answering the king, knowing that understanding comes from experience, and from experience alone. [ 117 ] ...

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