梗概

“Splendid”

Once upon a time there was a poor farmer who discovered a method of growing melons during the winter．When the King heard this, he demanded the farmer bring his melon to see him．At the palace the King asked the farmer whether the melon was grown in the winter, if he had invented this method, and whether he had brought the melon for the King to eat．The farmer replied “Yes, your majesty”to all questions, and the King commented “Splendid”each time．

On the way home, the farmer hungrily ordered twenty buns from a restaurant and ate them all．He then asked the owner if the buns were made in a steamer, and if the owner made them himself, also if the buns were made for him to eat．The owner impatiently replied yes to all of the questions and the farmer commented “Splendid”each time．The farmer was about to leave the restaurant; the owner demanded money for the buns．The farmer then explained “Are three words of ‘Splendid’ still not enough？”The owner angrily took the farmer to see the King in order to get justification．The King heard the story asked the farmer for an explanation．The farmer explained, “When I honorably presented your majesty with my melon, you awarded me with the word ‘Splendid’ three times．I felt satisfied, so paid the owner with these precious words for his buns．”The King was dumb-founded, then immediately commanded his servants to pay the farmer money for the melon．