Once there was a king who had three princess daughters. He was a needy man and always seeking approval from those around him. One day he made a contest between his daughters to find out who loved him more.
The eldest said, “I love you as much as my golden crown.” He smiled. The middle daughter said, “I love you more than my silver shoes.” He clapped his hands. The youngest said, “I love you like salt.” He frowned.
“Salt is a common thing!” the king said angrily. “If you love common things so much, then you will live a common life. Get out!” He sent away his youngest daughter.
With no income and no food, the youngest daughter was reduced to working in the salt fields just out of sight from the castle. Every day in the hot sun she scraped the salt from the fields. Every night she drank bitter water and ate food flavored by the salt sweat from her face.
Eventually, the daughter got tired of this life and grew to hate salt as much as she now hated her father. Being a princess, she did something about it. She organized a strike. The workers left the salt fields behind them and moved to a different part of the country.
Without salt, the king’s soldiers grew sickly and angry, and there was a coup. The king lost his head. The princess (no longer a princess) set up a new life as a farmer’s wife, and used salt sparingly.