In ancient times, there was a king who loved listening to stories. One day, he had a mischievous idea and announced throughout the country that:
"Whoever comes to the court and tells such a lie that I myself exclaim 'This is a lie!', will be given a large bag of gold coins as a reward."
Lured by the reward, great storytellers and courtiers came. One said: "Your Majesty! I saw a rooster that picked up an elephant and flew away." The king smiled and said: "It is possible, such is the power of nature, it could be true."
Another said: "Your Majesty! I once saw a fire in the sea in which fish were being fried and coming out." The king replied calmly: "The weather must have been hot, the water must have boiled, I don't call it a lie."
The king was actually very cunning, he would dismiss every big lie by saying "it is possible" so that he would not have to give the reward. Finally, a poor farmer appeared in court. He had a large empty pot in his hand.
The king asked: "What have you come to tell?"
The farmer said very seriously: "Your Majesty! I have not come to tell a story, but to collect my debt."
The king was surprised: "What debt?"
The farmer said: "Your Majesty! Perhaps you are forgetting, your late father borrowed a thousand gold coins from my late father and promised that his son (that is, you) would return the money to me. I have come to collect those thousand coins."
Now the king was in trouble. The court was full and it was a matter of reputation.
If the king said "This is a lie", the farmer would win the bet and he would have to give him gold coins as a reward.
If the king said "This is true", he would have to pay the farmer a thousand gold coins as a loan.
The king was stunned to see the farmer's wisdom and said with a smile: "You have won. Your wisdom is greater than your lie." The king gave him the reward and dismissed him.