The king loved listening to stories. He told those around him that he had come to know many stories. Whenever someone told him a story, he told him that he knew it and interrupted him to complete it himself until he finished it. When he got tired of old stories, he sent the chief of servants everywhere to find a good story.
The chief of servants told the slaves to roam the country everywhere and announce the following: Our king will offer many gifts to the man who will tell him the longest story in the world and make him laugh. The slaves screamed in the streets and squares. Many people came to the king and told him very long stories and tried to make him laugh, but he always saw the stories as old and said to them: This isn’t the longest story and there’s nothing funny about it.
Once a boy came to the king and said: Your Majesty, allow me to try to tell you the longest story in the world and make you laugh. The king said: Well, sit and begin your story! The boy started narrating his story.
Long ago, there lived a man named Mogambo who ate a lot but never got full to the point that no human could feed him until he was full. People competed to satisfy him without success, as he never got full. The head of that country heard about Mogambo and said to his servants: Bring him to me, and I will feed him completely until he is full.
He ordered his people to bring hundreds of thousands of containers of soup, meat, and fruit. Camels carried hundreds of containers on their backs. The camels stopped in front of the head’s house. Many people came to see Mogambo’s dinner.
Then Mogambo came, the drummers started drumming, the musicians started playing music, and people sang songs. Mogambo looked at the head and said to the people: Look now at my face! Look at me! Look at me! With these words, Mogambo started eating food. He ate and ate and ate and ate and ate.
The king asked the boy: Well, what after that? He ate and ate, and what after? The boy answered: Wait, oh king of the land. This is only the first container, and there are still thousands of containers! Wait a little. He kept eating and eating and eating. The king said to him: It seems your story is long, so let’s complete it in the evening.
Evening came, and the boy went to complete his story. He kept saying Mogambo ate and ate and ate. In the end, the king asked him to stop until the morning of the next day. In the morning, the head asked the boy to continue his story.
The king said to him: Now what can you tell us about your Mogambo? The boy said: Oh, oh, king of my land, he not only eats, but he also drinks. He even drank then ate and ate and ate. The boy said in a louder voice and kept eating and eating and eating.
The king looked at the boy and started laughing. Well, oh boy, your story is the longest in the world! You have a rest now! Stop. The boy stopped and received many gifts from the king. He climbed on the camel and rode far away with these words: And eating, eating, and eating and eating, and he was laughing in happiness.
Translated from the story: The Longest Story in The World