At last one man sent word to the king that he had a story which would last forever and ever, and that he was ready to come to the court at once. On hearing this the princess sent for the man and warned him of his danger. She begged him not to be so rash as to try the king’s patience, for no one had ever pleased his majesty, and she feared he would meet the fate of all those who had tried and failed. But he said he was not afraid, and he asked to be taken at once before the king.
“So you are the man who is to tell me a story that will have no end?” said the king.
“If it please your majesty,” answered the man.
“If you can do this, you shall be king after me, and you shall marry the princess, my daughter. But if you fail, you shall be cast into prison.”
“I understand, O king. I have a story about locusts which I shall be pleased to tell you.”
“Very well. Begin the story.”
The story-teller began his tale.
“O king, there was once a ruler who was a great tyrant. He wished to be the richest in the land, so he seized all the corn and grain in his kingdom and had it stored away. Year after year he did this until all his granaries were filled full. But one year there came a swarm of locusts and they discovered where all the grain had been stored. After a long search, they found near the top of the granary a very small hole that was just large enough for one locust at a time to pass through. So one locust went in and carried off one grain of corn; then another locust went in and carried off one grain of corn; then another locust went in and carried off one grain of corn; then another locust went in and carried off one grain of corn—”
Thus the story-teller went on day after day, week after week, from morning till night. After hearing about the locusts for nearly a year the king became rather tired of them, patient though he was, and one day he interrupted the story-teller with:
“Yes, yes, we’ve had enough of those locusts. Let us take for granted that they got all the grain they wanted. Now go on with the story. What happened afterwards?”