Once upon a time, far, far, away, in a kingdom by the sea, a nearsighted king always slept near the front of his castle. In fact, he seldom left this room.
Two large trees blocked the king's view of the forest beyond the castle. He never saw the peasants living in the rear of the kingdom, because the smell of the ocean made him seasick.
One day, the king noticed that his castle was leaning to one side. He called together his wizards, warriors, and boot-kissers—but no one could tell him why the castle was leaning.
Frustrated and afraid, the king began pacing the castle. Eventually, he happened upon a lowly potato peeler.
"Excuse me, Lowly Potato Peeler..." he said.
"Yes, oh great king?"
"The castle is leaning to one side. Can you tell me why?"
"Certainly, sire. A garrison of ships has hooked chains to the back of your castle, and they are pulling it into the sea. Your kingdom was built on sand, so there is no foundation."
"Tell me more. What can I do to save my kingdom?"
"The answer is simple, great king. I will take a team into the forest. We will cut the trees and use a process called shoring to fortify your foundation, and all will be well again."
The Potato Peeler kept his word. The first trees his team cut were those blocking the king's view of the forest. Within a few years, they had logged enough to restructure the foundation—and the garrison of ships became overloaded and began to sink into the sea.
The king was so happy, he declared a holiday to celebrate, inviting everyone from the kingdom to a great festival.
Most marveled at the accomplishments of the potato peeler and his team, but some in the kingdom remained nearsighted—blinded by the bad habits of their past.
This however did not disrupt the potato peeler. He was content that—at least—the king had the vision to see the big picture.
When the crowds faded, the potato peeler did not notice. He was busy planning for the future—developing a strategy for replacing the foundation's logs as they started to rot.
Then suddenly, the king appeared before him—and he looked angry.
"Oh great king, how can you possibly be unhappy. I have thwarted your enemies and saved the kingdom against all odds—when none of your wizards, warriors, or boot-kissers knew how—or would even admit that there were problems."
"That's just it." Replied the king. "Everything is good again—and I've noticed that you are not peeling potatoes."
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