A king has no sons, no daughters, and no queen. For this reason he must decide who will take the throne after he dies. To do this he decides that he will give all of the children of the kingdom a single seed. Whichever child has the largest, most beautiful plant will earn the throne; this being a metaphor for the kingdom.At the end of the contest all of the children came to the palace with their enormous and beautiful plants in hand. After he looks at all of the children's pots, he finally decides that the little girl with an empty pot will be the next Queen. Why did he choose this little girl over all of the other children with their beautiful plants?
The king gave them all fake seeds and the little girl was the only honest child who didn't switch seeds.
Why this works
This riddle plays on the themes of honesty and integrity versus deception. The king provided all the children with seeds that were actually incapable of growing, which means the beautiful plants brought by the other children were a result of dishonesty, as they likely replaced their seeds with real ones. The little girl, who brought an empty pot, demonstrated her honesty by not attempting to deceive the king, making her the most worthy candidate for the throne in the eyes of the king. This clever twist highlights the value of truthfulness in leadership.