The Happiest Man in Atlantis (A Short Story)

**Shaan Puri** (0:00)
All right, today, I want to actually tell you a story. So, there's a story called The Happiest Man in Atlantis.

**Sam** (0:06)
Have you heard it?

**Shaan Puri** (0:07)
Probably not, because I wrote it this morning. But I want to read this to you. I think it's a good one, so let's try it out.
All right, so once upon a time, there was a prince, and this prince was the richest man in Atlantis. He drank the finest wines, he wore the finest clothes, he slept with the finest women, he had servants attending to his every need. And yet the prince was unhappy. Every day he would wake up in the palace, the servants would bathe him and robe him, and he would look out to the land, and he would just feel empty and unhappy. And so one night, the prince decided enough of this. I'm leaving here, I'm running away. And he dresses up like a common man, he sneaks out of the castle. And along the way, as he's leaving the castle, trying to leave the royal palace, he stops at a bar, and he's drinking his sorrows away. And he hears two sailors talking about somebody who they call the happiest man in Atlantis. They said that the man is very old and that he's supposed to die in three days. So the prince interrupts them right away. He says, I need to meet this man before he dies. They said, well, you could try, but he lives far away. He lives in the cave near the cliffs. He used to be a rich king, and now he's given it all up. He lives in this cave. So the prince decides, what do I have to lose? It's just another day of elegant misery. No, packs a bag, and he grabs his backpack, and he just decides, okay, I'm going to go. So he gets to the cave, and he meets the man, and he says, they call you the happiest man in Atlantis. And the man says, well, names are curious things. I've never claimed such a title, but it seems to have found me. What do you seek? And the prince says, happiness. I have everything that a man wants, and yet I feel nothing but emptiness. The man says, I see you seek what cannot be bought, but is freely available to all. And I could teach you, it's actually very simple. He draws a triangle on the cave wall. He says, everything you need is in this triangle. And he says, okay, tell me. He says, come back tomorrow before sunrise and I'll tell you then. And the princess, tomorrow, can you just tell me now? And the man says, what kind of guru would I be? This is a story, I can't just tell you now. Come back tomorrow before sunrise. So the prince agrees and he decides to come back.
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