Springfield Weekly Republican

THE LONGEST STORY ON RECORD.—There was once a certain king, who, like many eastern kings, was very fond of hearing stories told. To this amusement he gave up all his time, but he was never satisfied. The exertions of his courtiers were all in vain. He at last made a proclamation that if any man should tell him a story that should last forever, he would certainly make him his heir and give him the princess, his daughter, in marriage, but if any one should pretend he had such a story and should fail—that is, the story did come to an end—he was to have his head cut off. For such a prize as a beautiful princess and a kingdom, many candidates appeared, and dreadful long stories some of them told. Some lasted a week, some a month, and some six months. Poor fellows, they all spun them out as long as they possibly could, but all in vain. Sooner or later they all came to an end, one after another, and the unlucky story-tellers had their heads chopped off. At last came a man who said he had a story that would last forever, if his majesty would be pleased to give him a trial. He was warned of his danger; they told him how many had tried and lost their heads, but he said he was not afraid, and so he was brought before the king. He was a man of a very composed and deliberate way of speaking, and after making all necessary stipulations for his eating, drinking and sleeping, he thus began:-

'Oh, king! there was once a king who was a great tyrant; and desiring to increase his riches he seized upon the corn in his kingdom, and put it in an immense granary, which was built on purpose, as high as a mountain. This he did for several years, until the granary was quite full to the top. He then stopped the doors and windows on all sides. But the bricklayers had, by accident, left a small hole near the top of the granary, and there came a flight of locusts and tried to get at the corn, but the hole was so small that only one locust could pass through at a time. So one locust went in and carried off one grain of corn, and then another went in and carried off another grain of corn, and then another locust went in and carried off another grain of corn.'

He had gone on thus from morning till night (except when he was engaged at his meals) for about a month, when the king began to be rather tired with his locusts, and interrupted his story with: 'Well, well, we have heard enough of the locust, we will suppose they helped themselves to all the corn they wanted. Tell us what happened afterward.' To which the story-teller answered deliberately: If it please your majesty, it is impossible to tell what happened afterward before I tell you what happened first.' And then he went on again:-

And then another locust went in and carried off another grain of corn, and then another locust went in and carried off another grain of corn, and then another locust went in and carried off another grain of corn, and then another locust went in and carried off another grain of corn.' The king listened with unconquerable patience for six months more, when he again interrupted him with, 'Oh! friend! I am weary of your locusts. How soon do you think they will have done?' To which the story-teller made answer: Oh, king! who can tell? At the time to which my story has come, the locusts have cleared a small place; it may be a cubit each way round the hole, and the air is still dark with locusts on all sides. But let the king have patience, and no doubt we shall have come to the end of them in time.'

Thus encouraged the king listened on for another full year, the story-teller going on still as before: 'And another locust went in and carried off another grain of corn, and then another locust went in and carried off another grain of corn, and then another locust went in and carried off another grain of corn, and then another locust went in and carried off another grain of corn, and then another locust went in and carried off another grain of corn.' At last the poor king could stand it no longer, and cried out, 'Oh! man, that is enough, take my daughter! take my kingdom! take anything, everything; only let me hear no more of the abominable locust.' And so the story-teller was married to the king's daughter, and was declared heir to the throne, and nobody ever expressed a wish to hear the rest of the story, for he said it was impossible to come to the other part of it till he had done with the locusts.