JUMPING COMPETITION

The flea, the grasshopper, and the jumping goose once decided to have a contest to see who could jump the highest. They invited the entire world and anyone else who wanted to come to witness this competition, and three top-notch jumpers presented themselves.

"I will give my daughter to the one who can jump the highest," declared the king. "It would be petty to have these fine individuals jump for nothing."

First, the flea stepped forward. She had a graceful demeanor, as she carried the blood of a lady within her and was accustomed to mingling with humans, which gave her a certain poise. Following her was the grasshopper, a bit heavier but still quite elegant, adorned in a green uniform that she had worn since birth. She also claimed to come from a very ancient Egyptian family, highly regarded in these parts. She had been plucked from the fields and placed directly into a three-story house of cards, with all three stories constructed from figure cards, the backs facing inward, and even doors and windows carved into them, including the Queen of Hearts herself.

"I sing so beautifully," she said, "that sixteen crickets from the region, who have chirped their entire lives without ever having a house of cards, have grown thinner in envy upon hearing me."

Both the flea and the grasshopper did their best to impress, hoping to win the hand of a princess. The jumping goose remained silent, but it was rumored that she had her own thoughts. When the court dog merely glanced at her, he assured everyone that she was of good breeding. An old counselor who had received three medals solely for remaining silent claimed that the jumping goose possessed divine powers and that one could tell from looking at her back whether the winter would be mild or harsh, which was something not even the publisher of the almanac could predict, despite his claims.

"All right, all right, I won't say anything," the old king declared, "but I do have my suspicions."

Now it was time to jump. The flea leaped so high that no one could see her, and the crowd insisted she didn't jump at all, which was a slander. The grasshopper's jump was only half as high, but it was right into the king's face, and he found it revolting.

The jumping goose remained still for a long time, hesitating. Everyone thought she didn't know how to jump at all.

"I hope she hasn't hurt herself," said the court dog, and encouraged her to try again.

Then, bam! She made a clumsy little jump right onto the princess's lap. That's when the king announced:

"The highest jump is jumping onto my daughter's lap because it shows a certain finesse, and it takes brains to come up with such an idea. The jumping goose has shown she has both intelligence and agility, and she shall have the princess."

"It was still me who jumped the highest," the flea mumbled. "But it doesn't matter! Let her keep her goose frame with her wand and her lump of tar. I jumped the highest, but in this world, you need a massive body for people to see you." The flea went off to serve in a foreign army at war, where it's said she met her end. The grasshopper settled in a ditch and pondered the ways of the world. She, too, thought to herself: "You need a body, you need a body..." She resumed her unique and melancholic song, from which we've drawn this tale. It may be a lie, though it's printed in a book.