The Liar

By Karen Reinhart

nce upon a time there was a king who was both curious and in need of amusement so he sent  his heralds throughout his land to invite those who would compete to a contest for liars. The person judged the most outrageous liar by the king would receive a golden apple from the king's own hands.

People came from everywhere. There were nobles, merchants, peasants, and clergymen in all sizes. Each of these people told the king their lying story, but the king had heard the lies before so he didn't believe them.

The king was tired of all this traffic. After all, he was a busy man. He was thinking of  ending the contest without declaring a winner when a poor, ragged man turned up.

The king politely asked what the man wanted and the man, looking bewildered said,  “Surely you remember that you owe me a pot of gold and I have come to collect it.

The king indignantly said, “You liar, you.  I don't owe you anything.”

The poor man said,  “If I'm a liar, give me the golden apple and we'll be even.”

The king realized that there was a trick here somewhere and said, “One second thought, you are not a liar.”

The poor man simply said,  “If  I'm not a liar, just give me my pot of gold and we'll be even.”

The king thought about it and handed over the golden apple.

Courtesy of Karen Reinhart
Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)