A king announced that he would give half his kingdom to anyone who could tell him a lie that he admitted was a lie. A shepherd and tailor both tried to trick the king with impossible stories, but the king was able to point out flaws in their tales. Finally, a peasant came and claimed the king owed him a bag of gold. When the king denied owing him anything, the peasant insisted this was a lie and demanded half the kingdom instead. The king realized he had been tricked by the peasant's clever story into admitting a lie.