The king is talking to the now well-dressed beggar, whom he clothed earlier, while the nobleman looks on, grumbling. The king winks at us - he is well aware of how his generosity comes across.
"Once upon a time, there was a big man who sometimes noticed how small others could be."
The notion of pettiness
When we are being petty, it is often because our boundaries have been violated. This may have made us angry, withdrawn and wary and caused us to be, emotionally or materially stingy in our interactions with others.
We received too little, and maybe we gave too much. Or maybe we feel we were passed over or ignored. Pettiness can be emotional as well as material; either way, it is ugly and unpleasant to be around. The world expands with wealth, including emotional wealth. Pettiness represents the opposite. Pettiness may contribute to economic wealth, but unfortunately it often leads to spiritual poverty and a dearth of affection for the stingy person. Perhaps the petty person grew up in a home where frugality was a condition for survival. Or where pettiness and thrift were cornerstones of a worldview shaped by scarcity.