The Neverending Story

Once upon a time, there lived a king. Day in and day out, he would lounge on his royal bed, half-asleep, listening to fairy tales. If the storyteller fell silent, the king would sink into despair, nearly on the verge of tears. That’s how much he loved lying around and listening to stories! So, they told him tales from morning till night, and even deep into the night. Only when the king finally fell asleep would the exhausted storytellers tiptoe away to catch a little rest. Can you imagine what kind of state the kingdom was in, where the king was obsessed with fairy tales?

The courtiers flattered him, as they didn’t care: if the king wanted stories, so be it! They lived off the king’s favors—as long as he was happy, all was well. But the common folk grew worried. The people earned their bread by the sweat of their brows, and they wanted better. They knew the king had to be weaned off his obsession with fairy tales, and quickly at that.

To make matters worse, the king loved long tales. Especially the ones that took several days, or even weeks, to tell. Imagine that! One story was so long it stretched over a thousand and one nights. The king would listen with such joy that he’d even start crying.

But everything in life comes to an end—no matter how long the tales were, they all eventually concluded. And the king would grow upset. One day, the king fell ill. He said:
“Until you find a storyteller who knows an endless tale, I will remain sick and never recover! Mark my words, it will be so, and no other way!”

Messengers raced to every corner of the kingdom to find a storyteller who knew an endless tale. The king promised the greatest reward—a sack of gold and his daughter’s hand in marriage.
Well, for a poor man, that wasn’t a bad deal at all! But who on earth knew an endless tale?

To make sure people didn’t waste his time, the king added one more condition: anyone who started a tale but failed to make it endless would immediately lose their head—no questions asked!

When those eager to get rich heard this, their enthusiasm for easy wealth vanished.
But the people were thinking of something else: how to bring the king to his senses. And so, a brave young man stepped forward. Maybe he didn’t value his own life—but who would believe that? More likely, he wasn’t afraid to risk his head for the sake of the people. And who helped him? It’s unclear—perhaps his father, grandfather, or other elders. In short, he had learned wisdom from the people and was clever himself.

He came to the king, bowed, and asked:
“Great king, they say you’ve promised a sack of gold and your daughter’s hand in marriage to anyone who can tell you an endless tale?”
“I did,” said the king. “And if I promised, I’ll deliver. But if the tale has an end, I’ll cut off your head.”
“If that’s the case,” said the young man, “we have a firm agreement. And I accept.”
They shook on it. The king was delighted: either he’d get his endless tale, or the young man would lose his head. Either way, it suited him! So, he sprawled on his royal bed and said:
“Well, go ahead and start!”

The brave young man sat on a small rug opposite the king and began:
“Once upon a time, there was a king. He gathered wheat from all the fields of his vast kingdom and stored it in one granary. And this granary was so enormous that even on the fastest horse, you couldn’t ride around it in a day!

Then disaster struck: a swarm of locusts descended upon the capital. It was so massive that it blotted out the sun. The streets rustled with their movements, they broke into houses, and the air became unbreathable. In less than a day, the locusts devoured all the vineyards, all the forests, and still they weren’t satisfied. They swarmed back and forth... until they caught the scent of the wheat in the granary. The locusts attacked the granary, but to no avail. The granary stood like a fortress wall: no windows, no cracks. The doors were tightly shut. For days, the locusts circled the granary! Finally, one lucky locust found the tiniest hole—so small that only one could squeeze through at a time.

It crawled in and took a single grain of wheat. It couldn’t carry two—the hole was too narrow. The locust crawled back out. Then a second one went in. It, too, took one grain and crawled back out. Then a third one squeezed in. As soon as it left, a fourth entered. Then a fifth... And so it went, one after another: one would crawl out, and another would crawl in.

Days passed, then weeks, then months. The brave young man sat before the king and kept repeating:
‘Then another locust crawled into the granary. As soon as it returned, another went in. This one came back with a grain of wheat, and yet another crawled in...’

Finally, the king couldn’t take it anymore and asked:
‘Tell me, for mercy’s sake, how long will these locusts keep crawling into the granary?’
‘O great king!’ replied the clever young man. ‘This is only the beginning—they’re just taking wheat from the very edge of the hole, and the granary is still full!’
‘But the end, the end,’ the king said angrily, ‘when will there be an end to these locusts?’
‘Ah, your majesty, you’ll have to wait for that!’ said the young man. ‘Maybe a hundred, maybe a thousand years will pass. First, the locusts must take out all the wheat, and then we’ll see what happens... But while we’re talking, another locust has crawled through the hole, taken a grain of wheat, and crawled back out. And after it...’

At this, the king couldn’t take it anymore and shouted:
‘Curse your locusts! You’ll drive me mad with them! Take the sack of gold and my daughter, just leave me alone!’

And so, the clever young man married the king’s daughter. He gave the sack of gold to the people and began to rule the kingdom. Everyone was happy because he ruled wisely and with care. As for the king, he no longer had time for such things: they started telling him shorter tales with proper endings. They were more interesting. So, he stayed busy listening to them and didn’t interfere with the one who ruled the kingdom with wisdom and experience.

↑ To the top

The Neverending Story

More fairy tales