English Original
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."
中文翻译
一位国王有三个儿子，他同样地爱着他们，因此不知道在自己死后该指定谁为王位继承人。临终之际，他将儿子们叫到床前，说道：“亲爱的孩子们，我有了一个决定要告诉你们。你们之中最懒的那个人，将在我之后成为国王。”
大儿子说：“父亲，那么王国就是我的了，因为我非常懒惰，当我躺下睡觉时，哪怕有水滴进眼睛，我也懒得合上眼皮好让自己入睡。”
二儿子说：“父亲，王国是我的，因为我非常懒惰，当我坐在火边取暖时，我宁愿让脚后跟被烤焦，也懒得把腿缩回来。”
三儿子说：“父亲，王国是我的，因为我非常懒惰，如果我即将被绞死，绞索已经套在脖子上，这时有人把一把锋利的刀塞进我手里让我割断绳子，我宁愿让自己被吊死，也懒得抬手去割绳子。”
父亲听完后说道：“你把懒惰发挥到了极致，你将成为国王。”