A long time ago there lived a king who was famed for his wisdom through all the land. Nothing was hidden from him, and it seemed as if news of the most secret things was brought to him through the air. But he had a strange custom; every day after dinner, when the table was cleared, and no one else was present, a trusty servant had to bring him one more dish. It was covered, however, and even the servant did not know what was in it, neither did anyone know, for the King never took off the cover to eat of it until he was quite alone. This had gone on for a long time, when one day the servant, who took away the dish, was overcome with such curiosity that he could not help carrying the dish into his room. When he had carefully locked the door, he lifted up the cover, and saw a white snake lying on the dish. 

从前有位以他的智慧而闻名全国的国王，世界上的事情他没有不知道的，而且，好像再秘密的事情也能有风声传到他的耳朵里。 不过，这位国王有个古怪的习惯：每天吃完晚饭，桌子已经收拾干净，而且其他人也都已离开之后，一位忠实的侍从会再给他端来一道菜。 不过，这道菜用盖子盖着，谁也不知道里面装的是什么，就连这侍从也不知道，因为国王每次都要等到房间里只剩下他一个人时才揭开盖子吃。
这种情况持续了很长一段时间，终于有一天，端碗的侍从再也克制不住好奇心，把这道菜端进了自己的房间。他小心地锁上门，揭开盖子，看到盘子里的菜是一条白蛇。