“What happened? Where am I?”, LaRuna stood up suddenly. Around him was an open plain, snow covered. There were buildings around him, though sparsely spaced among themselves. The night sky was clear, above him was a full moon that made the snow around him luster. The stars were so bright here, he was surprised how many were in the sky, even with the moon out.

He was alone out here, the air was crisp and chilly, he found his body was much colder than normal. He realized that he was wearing a cloak that hardly kept him warm. His fur was strangely light, and he began to shiver in the snow. He saw a large tower nearby, it loomed above the small buildings in the place. It was a small settlement with a strangely large castle that seemed to be the highest point in the area. “What an odd place to live.”, LaRuna said to himself. As he started to walk toward the castle, he noticed someone approach him. The stag squinted as the figure got closer. “Silun?”, LaRuna asked.

LaRuna recognized the stag, but he seemed very interesting. Upon his head was a crown that fit perfectly between his antlers. He wore a heavy cloak that covered most of his body, and his neck, ankles, and antlers were adorned with jewelry. The noble stag stopped before LaRuna, not seeming to recognize him in the moonlight. “Hello there, my friend. What are you doing out here in the cold?”, Silun asked.

“Silun? It’s me, LaRuna. Don’t you recognize me?”, LaRuna asked. The king tilted his head, “Ah, I’m sorry, page, I am very bad with names. But I may have seen you from time to time. I am King Silun, the ruler of this kingdom of Bohemia. And you said you were LaRuna? What an interesting name, where does it originate?”, the king asked the page, but before LaRuna could answer, he turned his attention to a lone deer walking around in the night. “Tell me, who is that there?”, Silun asked.

LaRuna turned to see Pent there, a pronghorn who was wearing worn rags that barely clothed him. He was very thin and his antlers seemed very worn. He shivered in the night, collecting small bits of firewood he could find. “That is Pent, Si…err…my liege.”, LaRuna played along with what he thought was some kind of strange act. “The poor peasant…I cannot bear to see a starving deer in my kingdom.”, the king replied, and turning to LaRuna, he continued, “Come, it is late but we will do what we can for him. Let us ask the other citizens of the kingdom for help.” LaRuna nodded, he was surprised that a king had such a thoughtful idea.

The two walked around, knocking on the doors of the other residents of the kingdom. They grumbled and moaned at first as they opened their doors to a cold night, but were surprised to see the king before them. King Silun asked them for spare food and firewood, giving them some of his riches for the provisions. The two collected from every house, using one of the King’s personal wagons to carry everything given. Both King Silun and LaRuna pulled the wagon together, and when they had gathered enough, they approached the peasant. “Oh, my king!”, Pent fell to his knees before the royal stag. “Rise, my friend, it is far too cold for formalities out here. I have come to take you to shelter from the cold. Come with me and my loyal servant here, we have a feast for you at my kingdom.”

Pent’s eyes widened as he heard what his king was saying to him. “I’m terribly underdressed for your castle, my liege.”, he spoke. King Silun shook his head, “Nonsense, you are more than welcome just as you are. Come, let us escape the cold of this night.”

The three left for the castle, a wagon full of provisions and donations from the people, all for one deer. They finally reached the castle and entered in, and the king did not hesitate to prepare a great feast for Pent as well as LaRuna. The warmth of the castle was very comforting for the poor pronghorn, and the meal was much more than he had eaten in a long while. He could never thank the king for his generosity. “You are welcome to stay in my castle any time you please. And tomorrow we will spread the word through the kingdom that all the poor are welcome here. It is time for a change in my land.”

King Silun then turned to LaRuna, “My page, I hope you, too, will be humble and generous in your life. I ask of you to follow in my example, and to invite the poor into your own home. The rewards for such deeds are great, as they are viewed by not only myself but a higher authority.”

“I will follow you anywhere, my liege.”, LaRuna replied. He suddenly found himself not in the snowy kingdom, but in the Endless Forest. He stood up and looked around, noticing Silun there, who had also just awoken and looked back at him. “Did you just have...”, Silun began to ask him, and he nodded. “King LaRuna, who would have thought?”, Silun said.

LaRuna tilted his head, “In my dream, you were the king.”, he replied. The two had the same dream, but with reversed roles. They both learned the same lesson this night, and practiced the very same virtues they learned in the dream.