Why did many people blame the king?

Text for questions no 1-4.

    In ancient times, the king placed a boulder on a roadway. Then he hid and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.

    Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything to get the big stone out of the ways. Then a peasant came along, carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After lots of pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying on the road where the boulder had been.

    The purse contained a lot of gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant leamed what many others never understand.

Why did many people blame the king?