There was a kingdom long, long ago. It was ruled by a king who loved riddles. Once a year the king made a new riddle. He gave a prize to the person who could solve the riddle.
There was a baker who also lived in this kingdom. Everyone agreed that he baked the finest breads. The baker had almost everything he needed except for a horse. If the baker had a horse, he could sell his fine breads from one end of the kingdom to the other.
One year the king made a new riddle that puzzled everyone. "I will give a prize to the person who can solve my riddle," the king said. "Whoever wins will have the pick of one of my strongest horses." He then drew a line down the middle of the courtyard. "Make this line shorter without erasing (清除) any part of it," the king challenged.
People came from far and wide. They looked at the line and squinted at it. They even put their noses to the ground and scratched their heads.
"How can you make a line shorter without erasing any part of it?" the people in the crowd asked each other. Some of them tried. The dressmaker kicked dirt (泥土) over the line to hide it. The farmer poured water over the line to make it disappear. None of these efforts worked, and the people went home disappointed. Everyone was puzzled about how to solve this new riddle.
A week passed, and nobody had any new ideas. Then one day the baker came into the courtyard with a bag of flour (面粉).
"Your Majesty," the baker said to the king, "I can make your line shorter without erasing any part of it." Then the baker opened his bag of flour. He poured out a line of flour right next to the king's line. The line the baker made was longer than the king's line.
"Now, good king," the baker smiled, "your line is shorter."
The people were amazed. The king laughed and clapped his hands. "You have won the prize. I will give you a horse of your choice."
The baker was excited. Now he could sell his breads from one end of the kingdom to the other.
