With his magical touch he acquired billions of bullion and became the most powerful king in the world at that time. The currencies of the world slipped thorugh his fingers, and flowed across the planet toppling good kings and bad. When he spoke men not only listened, they listened very carefully and did everything he told them. In this way, he was able to make sure that his predictions almost always came true.

Town cryers everywhere announced his arrival but often in a timorous tone. In order to stop any misunderstanding about his motives for acquiring wealth, he bought the town cryers in all the villages he visited a new trumpet so that they could signal his arrival with much fanfare and glad tidings. And so they did. Wise men sought his counsel which he freely gave.

Sometimes a currency wave would wash over a small village and smash all the boats and houses in it and kill the people but they did not complain because they were dead, or else, just very tired. No one else minded because there were always more beautiful clothes in lovely colors, technicolors in fact, and all manner of bright new baubles right after one of these currency tidal waves.

The king was so good in fact, that right after the tidal wave he and his brave knights would go to the village and fix up all the houses and pay for the funerals of all the dead people. Al those who had survived were very grateful even though they now had to pay a very high rent for a house that had once been belonged to them.

One day the king grew tired and made a new procalmation. He said that all the currency warfare had to stop and that this way of doing business was very bad. And all the people said not only is he a strong king, he is a good one as well. Then he had the town cryers bring out their trumpets and herald the beginning of the Open Society, which he said everyone could be a part of as long as they kept their mouths shut. Everyone everywhere so wanted to have this Open Society that they immediately agreed with his plan.

The last line of the story is, of course, supposed to go, "And they lived happily ever after." But in fact, no one knows, because although the king did send out his pollster everyone was at home behind a closed door with his mouth shut.

THE END