Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1868-12-24

THB LONGEST STORY ON RECORD
Tue following VII amuse Almost any one
who VIII take tue trouble aad spare ths tune
to read IL tn ugh
N any Eastern Kings, was very fond of bear
lug stones tod. To ID . amssen.ut he gave
up all ms time, out be was never sausned
i noe e1sfuons 81 nn courtiers were All IN VAN
he AT last made proc lamatICn That II any
man should tell him story that should .st
forever, ne would &c rntuly maize htm b 10 heir
snd gave him the princess, his dnngatsr, III
marriage, out II any one should pretend Ia
tad such story ana should fail-that 10, the
head cut on
= kfnsdem, many candioarss appeared, ana
drs adfu1 long stories some Of them Told Some
Iasied week some q moalh, and some six
months POOR fellows tn-y ali spun them
out as ispk as hey possibly could, bat all IN
vsin Sooner or later trey all came An END,
enc afier another. and Tue I'M lucky 81 1ry- tel
leIs had 70 ear heads chopped of; Al last cAms
man who said ne had { story II a. W ould last
forever, if his majesty woRid ne pleased TO
give him trial. He was warned II his dan
grri they told him how many had Tried and
lost their heads, but he said be was not afraid;
and so he was oropgnt b-fors the king He
was man OF a very composed and d. Iiberats
way OF speaking, and afier making all noes
.ary shpoIsuons for mis- eating, drinkng and
Ion, king there was once a king VITO was
g'.at yrant: ana desiring TO increase his
III,
AUD put II In Ill immense granary, winch was
butt Oh purpCse. As high as u mountain. This
Ne did for several year., until the granary was
quite fell 10 The top. He then stopped the
dooIs and windows on all SIDES Bat tae
bricslayers had, nv accident left a small hole
near the top OF The sraaary. and there came q
Hight of icons = and tried to get the co ru,
but The hole Was so small tina, only one locust
could pass through at time. So one locust
went In and car r ed of ore grain of corn, aud
then another went in and carried off another
h0n fEar net
and carried eff another grain of corn
lie mao gone on TINS from morning I'LL night
except hen he was engaged at mis- meals)
Tor aoout mouth. when the King beg IN II be
rather tired with his locusts, and interrupted
ms story, with
~ eli, well, we have heard enough of the
loeusts. We will suppose they helpAd them
selves to all the cora they wanted. Tell u.
what happened atterward.'
10 which the story-tell.r ans wered deiiber-
ateIy:
.If 1t please your majesty, 1t is Impossible
TO tell what happened af,erward before tell
You what happened first"
And then he went on again:
.'And then another locust went in and car
ried on ano her grain OF corn, and the an other
locust went In and carried OF an other grain OF
corn, and then another locust wen, In and car
Tied OF another grain Of corn.
The King listened with unconquerable pa
Hence for elk months more, when he again in
terTupted him with:
"Oh! friend! am weary Of your iocusts,
How seen DO you think they " i'll have done!"
To which the story teller mace answer:
"Oh, King who can tell Al the time to
which my story has come, the locus's have
cleared a small place; II may be q cubt each
way Tonnd 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
bnother fuIl year, the story. teller going on
sIill as before:
"And another 10 Gust went in and carried off
another grain OF corn, aud then another locust
went In ana carried off another grain of corn.
ana then another locust went in and carried
on another grain OF corn, ana then another To-
Gust went In and carried of another grain Of
corn, and then anether locust went in and car
ned OF another grain of corn"
AT last the poor King could stand f. no
longer. and cried out
Oh /! man, that Is enough take my daugh-
ter! take my Kingdom take anything, take
everything; only let me hear NO more Of the
aboninable locust"
AnG so the story-teller was married to the
Kings daughter and was declared heir TO the
throne, and nobody ever expressed a wish TO
bear The rest OF the story, for he raid il was
impossible TO come to the other part OF 1t I'll
lie had done with the locusts.