44.Short Story : Punishment

Once upon a time, there lived a king in a palace. He was very handsome and smart but he was a great fool. One day, he announced that ______________ .

Ans. PUNISHMENT

Once upon a time, there lived a king in a palace. He was very handsome and smart. But he was a great fool. He had a fancy for wearing strange looking outfits as he felt that such dresses would enhance his smartness.
One day he announced that whoever could stitch him a fantastic dress would be rewarded with half his kingdom. There was one tailor who was clever too. He knew how awkward and foolish the king used to look with strange outfits. He thought of a plan.
After a week, the tailor went to the king and said, “0 Majesty, here I’ve come to present you the world’s best outfit which will be a fantastic dress. Just because it is made of air, only a really intelligent person can see it.”
Full of eagerness the king told him, “Come, come to show me!” The tailor showed his empty hands and described the beauty of the “dress” as if it looked the most amazing.
Since he said that only intelligent people can see it, the king appreciated the beauty of the dress. He then offered to wear it too.
The king removed all his old clothes and wore the “dress” made of air with pride, though actually, the tailor knew he was wearing nothing.
Then the king wanted to show off this ‘beautiful dress’ to his people and so went on a procession. The people looked stunned but praised the dress out of fear of punishment. On the way, a small child laughed at the king saying “Mamma! Is it not shameful for the king to move around without a dress?”
Shocked and feeling absolutely ashamed (for a child never tells lies or feels afraid), the king returned to his palace and ordered punishment for the tailor who befooled him.