Once upon a time, in a far-off land, there was a very lazy king who spent all day lounging on his throne.
The king thought long and hard, and finally came up with a brilliant plan: he would tax the jokes in the kingdom.
"After all," he said, "everyone enjoys a good joke, so it's only fair that they should pay for the privilege."
The king's subjects were not amused. They grumbled and complained, but the king was firm:
As a result, people stopped telling jokes, and the kingdom fell into a gloom. But there was one person who refused to let the king's foolishness get him down.