The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-03-06
Hum Miscellany
The Lonse.. Story ON Record.


The Longest Story ON Record.
The following will perhaps amuse any one
who will take the trouble and spare the time
to read it through:
There was once a certain king, VINO, me
many eastern kings, was very fond OF nearing
stories told To this amusement he gave up
all his time but yet he was never satlsned
The exertians ofhis courters We're an IN yam.
He at last made 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
,.uch q story and should fai-that is if the story
id come to an end-he was to have his head
CIT off.
For such price as a beautiful princess and
kingdom many candidates appeared, and
dreadful long stories some of them told
Some of them lasted a week, some a month.
and some six months. Poor fellows they ali
spun out as long as they possibly could, but all
IN VAN. Sooner or later all came to an end
and, one atler another the unlucky story-tell-
ers had their heads chopped off. At last came a
man who said that he had story that would
last forever, if his majesty would be pleased to
give hun trial. He warned him of his dam
ger; they told him how many others had tried
and lost their heads, but he said he was not
afraid; and so he was brought before the king
lie was man of very composed and DELHI
crate way OF speaking, and, after making all
necessary stlpuidtioHS Ior MS eatlnS, drinking
ana sleeping, ne thus began:
"oh, KING, there was once king who was a
great tyraht; ana desiring TO increase his rich
es, he selzed upon the corn IN his kingdom, and
pu!t, IL lllto an immense granary, which was
built on purpose, as high as amountain. 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 small hole
near the top of the granary and there came a
nlgnt OF locusts and tried to get at the corn,
out the hole was SO small that only one To-
Gust could pass through at time. So one To-
Gust went IN and carried off one grain of corn,
and then another locust went in and carried OFF
another gram fcorn, 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. iala ;bsa,la
He had gone on thus from morning till night
Except when he was engaged at his meals,
for about month, when the king began to get
rather tired of his locusts, and interrupted his
story with: eg
We'll, We have heard enough of the locust.
We will suppose they helped themselves to ali
the corn they wanted. Tell ms what happened
afterwards. fa 7'f'l -
To which the story-teller answered deliber-
ately: Ht'.9s FItV--
IF it please your majesty, it is impossible to
tell what happened afterwards before / tell
Wnat happened first.
And then he went on again. aAnd tbo, ~,
other 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 anotbar yro;n -