The king was to pass by a beggar's small poor house and the man was excited, not because he was about to see the king but because the king was known to part with expensive jewels and huge sums of money when moved by sympathy. He saw the king's carriage just when a kind man was filling his begging bowl with uncooked rice. Pushing the man aside, he ran into the street, shouting praises of the king and the royal family. The carriage stopped and the king beckoned to the beggar. "Who are you?" he asked. "One of the most unfortunate of your people," said the beggar. "Poverty sits on my doorstep and follows me about like a dog. I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon!" "Have you nothing for your king except great sorrow?" said the ruler, putting out his hand. "Give me something." The beggar, astonished, carefully picked up 5 grains of rice from his bowl and laid them on the king's outstretched palm. The king drove away. The beggar's disappointment was great. He complained and cursed the king again and again for his miserliness. When he returned home in the evening he found a bag of rice on the floor. "Some generous soul has been here," he thought and took out a handful of rice from the bag. To his astonishment, there was a small piece of gold in it. He realized then that the bag had been sent by the king. He emptied the rice on the floor, feeling sure there would be more gold pieces in it, and he was right. He found 5, one for each grain of rice he had given the king. "It is not the king who has been miserly," thought the man, sadly. "If I had been generous and given him the whole bowl of rice, I would have been a rich man today." Why did the king ask the beggar for something according to the text?
Because he was poor than the beggar. Because he wanted to make the beggar even poorer. Because he had nothing to eat. Because he wanted to give something to the beggar in return.