When the king heard that a neighboring ruler had built himself a splendid new palace, his own beautiful old palace suddenly seemed dull and ugly. He could think of nothing but that shining wooden wonder.

These popular birth stories have also been told in sculpture and painting throughout the Buddhist world. It is interesting to note that parallels of many of these stories can be found in non-Buddhist Indian literature and the ancient Greek Aesop's fables.

Once, in the long-ago days, there lived a king in a beautiful old palace.  He was happy there, and ruled kindly, if not always wisely, over his people.  But one day he chanced to hear that a neighboring ruler had built himself a splendid new palace, all of shining wood.  And after that, his beautiful old palace seemed dull and ugly to the king.  He could think of nothing but that shining wooden wonder.

“Enough of this,” the king decided. “I shall have a new palace as well.  It shall be all of shining wood.  And it shall be twice as splendid as that—that wooden shack!”

They came upon the very finest of trees. "Come, woodsmen!" cried the king. "Chop it down!"

“But it will hurt your people,” said his councilors.  “For it is they who will have to pay for your new palace.  And the cost may be much more than they can afford.  They may starve.”

“Oh, nonsense!” the king replied lightly.  “I’ve always been good to them.  This once, let them be good to me!”

So he went with his courtiers and his servants and his woodsmen with their axes deep into the forest to look for the finest of trees.

And there they came across a mighty tree: a beautiful, tall, wide-branched tree, a very king of trees.

“Come, woodsmen!” cried the king.  “Chop it down.”