In short
Themes: Honesty; truth; taking responsibility; learning from mistakes.
Summary: This assembly, which is suitable for an act of collective worship, focuses on the fable called The Emperor’s Contest, a traditional Chinese story. It explores the value of being honest.
Resources:The framework to download / print (pdf); an image to display of the word ‘Honesty’; also have some true or false statements written up for the children to read as they come into assembly.
The video
BEN: Hiya, I'm Ben and this is the amazing story of the Emperor's Contest.
Once, there was an emperor, a king, a ruler. No, not that sort of ruler. This sort of ruler.
EMPEROR: I am the emperor!
BEN: He had no children, but he wanted to choose someone wise and honest to rule his glorious kingdom after him. So, he called for his trusty messenger.
MESSENGER [BLOWS TRUMPET]: I am the messenger to his magnificent emperor! He's inviting all children to his splendidulous palace. Come on, hurry up, let's go.
BEN: When the children got to the palace, the emperor said, "Children, I'm giving you all a seed. Go home, plant this seed in a pot and in one year come back and then I'll choose one of you to be the next emperor."
Well, go on then, hurry up, there's no time to lose.
One of the children was a boy called Ling. Ling was so excited to be given a seed by the emperor…
LING: Oh, my beautiful, wonderful seed. I'm going to plant this seed in a pot and I'm going to water it. I'm going to water it every day.
BEN: Well, Ling did water it every day. It didn't grow. He gave it plenty of sunshine.
Yet, no matter what he did, where he put the pot or how much he watered it, it just didn't grow. He even sang the seed a song.
LING: [SINGS] Grow, grow, grow. Grow, grow, grow. Please?
BEN: As the weeks past, Ling saw the plants of the other children who'd been given seeds and already they were growing tall and strong! Ling didn't know what to do.
Then he had an idea.
'Maybe,' Ling thought, 'I could take a different plant, a nice big bushy one and pretend that my seed has grown really well.' [GIGGLES]
LING: Oh, I can't do it!
BEN: You see, it wouldn't have been honest and Ling knew how important it was to tell the truth. If he lied, he wouldn't be worthy to take over from the emperor.
The day came and Ling and the other children returned to the great hall with their plants and wondered which of them the emperor would choose.
The emperor saw Ling's pot and asked…
EMPEROR: What is your name?
LING: Ling.
EMPEROR: All hail the next emperor – Emperor Ling.
LING: Pardon?
EMPEROR: A year ago, I gave you all a seed to plant. But, the seeds I gave out had been boiled, so they would never ever grow. I wanted to see how many of you would swap a useless seed for a plant and whether any of you would return with an empty pot. Only one of you has and that is Ling. So, this young man will be my heir, because he's been honest.
BEN: Ling was astonished and many years later did indeed become emperor and was known throughout the land as wise, honest and true.
Well, thanks for helping me tell today's treasure story. We'll see you again soon. Bye-bye.
ALL: Bye!
The story is a fable of Chinese origin.
A fable is a story that has a moral, some nugget of wisdom that can be applied to life. This story focuses on the value of honesty and taking responsibility for telling the truth even when it is difficult.
The emperor in the story has to decide who will be the next emperor. He wants someone truthful, so sets a task to help him pick the next emperor. He gives each candidate a seed and asks them to return with whatever grows from it. The candidates do not know that the seeds have been boiled and thus cannot grow.
This fable can help us to reflect on the value of honesty and what can happen if we are courageous and tell the truth, even when it might appear the more difficult option to take.
Video questions
- Why did the emperor want to choose someone to be the next emperor? (He had no children)
- What did the emperor give to the children that he had invited to his palace? (A seed)
- What happened to Ling’s seed? (It didn’t grow)
- What idea did Ling have when his seed didn’t grow? (To pretend that a different plant had grown from the seed)
- Why did the emperor choose Ling to be the emperor? (Because he was honest and didn’t lie about the plant)
Key links
Assembly framework (pdf) document
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Honesty. image
Click for the full size image.
Suggested framework
1. Entry
Play your chosen music.
2. Introduction
As the children gather display a list of four or five statements about you or the school - some true facts and one or two made up. Read them out and ask the children to share what they think about them. Do they think they are all true? Which of them would you choose to share with other people? Why? Gather some ideas from the children about why it is important to tell the truth. Explain that everyone is going to a short video of a story about the importance of being honest.
3. Play the video
The duration is 4’ 21” and the final words are: ‘See you again soon! Bye bye! Bye!’
4. Time to talk
Lead a discussion about the video by asking some or all of the following questions:
- Why might the emperor have wanted someone wise and honest to rule his kingdom after him?
- What did the messenger tell the children?
- What did the emperor give the children? Why?
- What qualities might the emperor be looking for in the next emperor?
- What did Ling do with his seed to help it to grow?
- What happened to his seed?
- Do you think Ling's idea of taking another plant and pretending his seed grew is a good idea?
- Why did the emperor choose Ling?
- How do you think the other children felt when the emperor choose Ling on the basis of his honesty?
5. Opportunity to sing
Suggestions from BBC collections below.
6. Opportunity to reflect
Close your eyes for a moment…
Think about a time when you have been tempted not to be honest. Did it seem the easy option?
Think about the story of 'The Emperor’s Contest'. The emperor wanted someone trustworthy and true to take over the kingdom.
Now picture yourself holding that seed. What would you have done if your seed did not grow and you wanted to impress the emperor…?
When Ling was honest and courageous the emperor rewarded him.
Perhaps next time you feel tempted to be untruthful you'll remember the story of Ling - a boy who became an emperor because he was honest.
7. Opportunity for prayer
Begin with your usual form of address ('Dear God', 'Dear Lord', 'Let us pray', etc) and:
Thank you for the fable of 'The Emperor’s Contest' reminding us of the value of honesty.
Sometimes it can be tempting to give the answer we think people want. Sometimes it can feel easier not to tell the whole truth.
Fill us with courage to tell the truth, even when we have done something wrong.
Thank you for teaching us that being honest will bring great rewards.
Amen.
Suggested songs
Song: 'Keep the golden rules' (All about our school, no 5. Vocal version)
Chorus:
Every day’s a good day
When we keep the golden rules.
Then we’ll get on in a good way
With everyone at school!
Show respect for one another
And different points of view,
And take good care of each other
In everything we do.
Verse 1:
They’re all there for a reason,
So everything is cool,
And every day’s a good day
When we keep the golden rules!
Chorus:
Verse 2:
There are rules for playing every sport
And every kind of game,
To get along together
We need rules just the same!
Chorus:
Every day’s a good day
When we keep the golden rules.
Then we’ll get on in a good way
With everyone at school!
Show respect for one another
And different points of view,
And take good care of each other
In everything we do.
And take good care of each other
In everything we do.
'All together as a family' (All about our school, no 15).
Some can dance and some can sing,
Some can fiddle on a violin.
Some can bat and some can bowl,
Some can tackle and score a goal.
Some can paint and some can sew,
Some can juggle and some can throw.
Some can throw, some can throw.
All that we can do or be
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
Some can run and some can swim,
Some do somersaults in the gym.
Some can ride or climb a tree,
Some are good at technology.
Some can teach and some can guide,
Some get everybody organised.
Organised, organised.
All that we can do or be
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
One for all and all for one,
All together we get things done.
We get things done.
All that we can do or be…
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
All together as a family.
'Let us with a gladsome mind' (Come and Praise, no 8)
