There once were two culturally different tribes of people who lived side by side in unity, and called themselves, “The Kingdom Without Borders.”  The tribe with the largest land mass specialized in managing herds of cattle and other animals, and the other tribe grew crops of vegetables. It was a unique country, watched and studied by the rest of the world for the way these two diverse tribes lived, worked, and traded their goods so peacefully, and when disagreements arose, how they worked through them with patient understanding.

Now the crop farmers had a large lake on their side, whereas the cattle farmers did not. The cattle needed this water source to survive, however, so the beasts would, when they got thirsty, trudge across the vegetable fields to get to the lake. At first this was tolerated by the crop farmers. There weren’t that many crops, and there weren’t that many cattle. But over time both tribes grew, along with their need for more food. As a result, increasing amounts of vegetables were being trampled by the growing population of animals. Something had to be done! Anger mounted, and meetings were called. Then someone with wealth and pull rose up among the crop farmers to convince them the only way to solve the problem was to build a long fence between the tribes to keep the cattle from wandering into their fields.

After weeks of hard work, and spending almost all their money, the fence was finally finished. Peace at last! But not for long. One by one, the cattle of the other tribe began to die off, as their owners struggled to get enough water for them. As a result, even the crop farmers began to feel the effect. They had no more meat to eat, or leather and fur to keep them warm. Their crops suffered without the enrichment of the manure. And they even missed the mirth when the two groups came together to sing and dance and tell stories.

As the world watched and waited, the crop farmers gathered to discuss the matter. But they could not agree together what to do. It was then that a little boy stood up and requested to address the elders. With their permission, he spoke.

The elders were stunned and ashamed. In their anger and ignorance, they never thought of building a road! So without any more discussion the tribe immediately set out to tear down the fence and build a road instead. The thankful cattle owners forgave the farmers, and worked alongside them to build the road. The restored unity, and resulting prosperity among the two groups was again spoken of throughout the world, and they soon became known as, “The Kingdom With A Road.”