A Never ending Story

1. Listen carefully and read with me.

Once there was a king. He loved stories.

“Tell me a story!” he said all the time. At the end of the story, he said,
“And then ? What happened next ?”
“Nothing. This is the end,” said the story-teller.
“Tell me a story that has no end. I want a never-ending story.”
The story-teller thought and thought. All his stories had an end.

He could not think of a never-ending story. Then he had a bright idea. He began to tell a new story.
“Once there was a king.
He lived in a big palace. The palace had a big kitchen and a big storehouse.
There were big heaps of grain in the storehouse. There was a hole in the wall of the storehouse.

A little sparrow saw the hole, and swiftly flew inside the storehouse.
Then she picked a grain and flew away.”
“What happened next ?” said the king.
“Then another sparrow saw the hole, flew in, picked a grain and flew away.”
“Oh, and then ?
What happened next ?”

“Then a third sparrow saw the hole,
flew in, picked a grain and flew away.”
“And then?”
“Then a fourth sparrow saw the hole….”
The story went on and on like this.
Even now, the story-teller is telling the king this story about the grains and the sparrows.
If you don’t believe me, you can go there and see for yourself.
A little sparrow saw the hole, and swiftly flew inside the storehouse.
Then she picked a grain and flew away.”
“What happened next ?” said the king.
“Then another sparrow saw the hole, flew in, picked a grain and flew away.”
“Oh, and then ?
What happened next ?”