A king had three sons whom he loved equally well, and he did not know which of them to appoint as his successor. When the time came for him to die, he called them to his bedside and said, "Dear children, I have decided something that I will reveal to you. The one of you who is the laziest shall become king after me."
The oldest son said, "Father, then the kingdom belongs to me, for I am so lazy that whenever I lie down to sleep and a drop falls into my eyes, I will not even close them so that I can fall asleep."
The second son said, "Father, the kingdom belongs to me, for I am so lazy that when I am sitting by the fire warming myself, I would rather let my heels burn than pull my legs back."
The third son said, "Father, the kingdom is mine, for I am so lazy that if I were about to be hanged with the rope already around my neck, and someone put a sharp knife in my hand to cut the rope, I would let myself be hanged rather than lift my hand to the rope."
When the father heard this, he said, "You have taken it the farthest and shall be king."