Believe It or Not

Lounging outside the inn were three youths. They were the bane of the village. Work never appealed to them, and they were quite happy to spend their time in one mischievous prank after another. Now their attention was centered on a very well-dressed stranger who had arrived at the inn, and the leader of the trio spoke their thoughts when he said, “Let’s see if we can take this man’s fine clothes from him.”

The stranger seemed a jovial type, and the three youths found no difficulty in striking up a conversation with the man. In time, the talk led to unusual experiences each had encountered, and when the stranger started being critical of some of the stories, the leader of the youths had a bright idea. “Let each of us tell his most unusual experience,” he said, “and if anyone disbelieves the story, he must hand over his clothes to the storyteller.”

The stranger, with a twinkle in his eye, readily agreed to this peculiar wager.

Now the first youth told his story: “When I was a small child, I wandered into the garden and, seeing an apple tree full of ripe fruit, I climbed up the tree into the topmost branches and ate apple after apple. Soon, I had eaten all the apples, but I was too full to climb down the tree. So, I had to run to the village carpenter to borrow a ladder so that I could get down.”

When he had finished his story, the youth asked the others if they believed him. They all said yes.

Then the second youth told his story: “One morning I was walking in the forest and saw a rabbit scampering along. With thoughts of a good dinner, I chased the rabbit into a thicket. Crashing through the undergrowth, I suddenly found myself faced by a huge tiger, which gave an unearthly growl and got ready to pounce. Then I remembered a fakir who had said that wild animals could be hypnotized. Immediately, I started to hypnotize the tiger, but that beast had never heard of hypnotism, and with one bound, picked me up in its jaws and ate me up.”

Having finished his story, the youth looked around to see if the stranger disbelieved him. But the stranger merely murmured, “That was very good.”

It was now the turn of the third youth to tell his story: “One morning I took my boat and went fishing, and although I fished for hour after hour, I caught nothing. Wondering why the fish were not biting, I dived into the water and at the bottom of the sea I saw a fish as big as a house, busy swallowing all the other fish. With one blow of my fist, I killed the monster and, being very hungry, I kindled a fire, cooked the fish, and ate it, bones and all.”

At the conclusion of this story, the stranger said, “Very unusual indeed. Now I will tell you my story.”

“Years ago, I planted a field with cotton. One plant grew to an enormous height. On this plant were just three pods, and they got bigger and bigger. One day, the three pods burst open, and each contained a youth. I was lucky, for the three youths could help on my farm. But late one night they ran away, and ever since, I have been searching for them. Now I have found them. You are my three youths, and I will take you back with me.”

The three youths were now in a fix. If they said they believed this story, then they would have to work for this glib-tongued stranger. And if they expressed disbelief, then they would have to give him their clothing. With woebegone looks, the three youths took off their clothing and gave the garments to the stranger, then took to their heels, much to the merriment of all the village.