A trio of jesters journeyed across the land to perform a lark in the court of the king. Comprising the trio were a blind man, a deaf man, and a mute. The blind man was said to be a legendary poet and songsman, whose voice and verse were pure as the falls first snow. The deaf man, who though deaf could speak, was said to be an excellent archer and ax thrower, whose clout and clever where sharp and certain to win the favor of even a most discriminating audience. The mute, who though mute could sign, was said to be a most bizarre juggler and contortionist, whose juggled fodder and entangled arrangements defied all logic.
In exchange for his entertainment, the king promised the trio a modest fortune, which enticed each member of the trio, so much so that they grew suspicious of each other. In fact, each grew to suspect that the others were plotting a foul a scheme of murder, not realizing that from such innocent caution often arises itself the object of suspicion, which in this case, to the grave misfortune of our trio’s fates, was indeed a foul scheme of murder.
After hours of travelling, the trio stopped at an inn for a warm meal, a few pints of draft, and a night’s rest. The three enjoyed hearty portions of sausage and mash, and retired to the bar for some pints before sleep.
After several pints, the deaf man excused himself to the toilet to relieve himself. As he exited, a veiled merchant called to him from the shadows, but the deaf man did not hear him call, since he was deaf. The deaf man returned to the bar and a few minutes later, the mute excused himself to the toilet to relieve himself. As he exited, the same veiled merchant called to him from the shadows, but the mute was frightened and dare not approach, as he had in times past been duped into abduction and not been able to call for help, since he was mute. The mute returned to the bar and a few minutes later, the blind man excused himself to the toilet to relieve himself. As he exited, the merchant called to him from the shadows, and the blind man approached, being not afraid of the shadows, since he was blind.
The merchant offered, for a fair price, a vial of most vile poison, which would take the life of its target upon their falling asleep. The blind man contemplated the purchase, considering how a third of the promised fortune was a meager allotment when compared to half, or even all of it. The blind man purchased the poison, and returned to the bar, plotting in his head a foul scheme of murder.
After sitting, the blind man said to the mute, “I’ve bought an invigorating potion from a travelling merchant. Drink some and offer some to the deaf man. We will need our strength and wits about us if we are to impress the king.” Then the blind man handed the vial of poison to the mute, not knowing the vial was labeled quite plainly: “POISON.” The mute read the label and was not impressed by the less than clever ruse. However, brewing in his greedy head was, not surprisingly, his own foul scheme of murder.
The mute concealed the vial's label, and signed silently to the deaf man, “the blind man has given me an invigorating potion that he wants to share with you, so you will have strength to throw your axes, and he will have wits to compose his verse.” The deaf man nodded and thanked the blind man aloud, who smiled and nodded. The mute poured half of the vial of poison into the deaf man’s pint, who eagerly drank it up, and then the mute poured the other half of the vial of poison into the blind man’s pint, right before his unseeing eyes, who unknowingly drank it up.
The trio enjoyed their pints and retired to bed, or so it was thought. The deaf man, though poisoned and doomed, belated death by lying awake in his bed, as his greedy mind awaited a suitable nighttime hour for executing a most foul scheme of murder. When the moon had reached high into the sky, the deaf man crept out of his room ax in hand. He crept into the blind man’s room, who was already long dead from the poison. Fearing to wake the dead blind man, the deaf man swung quickly and drove his ax into the dead blind man’s skull. Then the deaf man snuck into the room of the mute, who awoke quickly, as the deaf man was creeping rather loudly. However, the mute could not call for help, since he was mute, so the deaf man approached him, and with his strong ax throwing hands, he strangled his friend the contorting mute, who, without a whimper, gasped and died. The deaf man retired to his own room, laid in his own bed, and fell fast asleep, forever.
The following morning, none of the trio of jesters awoke, and the king was not entertained, retaining the fortune to his own pleasure.
The END.
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