(Following is one version of the story. In other versions, the prince is a boy, the son of the king of kings, who is sent to Egypt to retrieve a pearl from a serpent. During his quest, he is seduced by the people and forgets his origins. When the boy received a letter from his father, the king of kings, he remembers who he is, retrieves the pearl, and returns home.)
One day the great King of Heaven decided to send his beloved son, the prince, on a sacred mission to earth to find and bring back understanding of the Pearl of Great Price.
While in his mother’s womb he repeats to himself over and over that when he is born, he will not forget who he is and why he has come to earth.
However, at the moment of his birth, he does forget both his mission and his royal origins. As the world’s sights and sounds engulf him, he cries out in sorrow, “Alas! Alas! I have forgotten!” According to legend, this is the secret meaning behind every newborn infant’s cry.
Drawn to the world’s attractions, the prince becomes accustomed to this alien land and finally comes to believe it is the only home he has ever known.
Time passes. The prince marries, has children, and indulges in the age-old labors and pleasures of human existence, all the while remaining in a state of spiritual forgetfulness.
Decades go by. Then in his fortieth year, a milestone age for spiritual awakening, the King of Heaven sends his son a message: “Remember, seek, struggle, accomplish, return.”
But the prince pays no attention. He is too immersed in life. So, the King sends the message again, this time in a different form. Again, it is ignored.
Message after message is sent from the King of Heaven to the prince over a period of years, or if you will, over a period of lifetimes.
Gradually the prince begins to comprehend the meaning of these heavenly dispatches and to recognize their urgency. After much hesitation and many slips and falls, he answers his father’s call, finds the Pearl of Great Price—his spiritual nature—and returns home from exile.