King Frederick the Great of Prussia had a very fine army, and none of the soldiers in it were finer than his Giant Guards, who were all extremely tall men. It was difficult to find enough soldiers for these Guards, as there were not many men who were tall enough.

Frederick had made it a rule that no soldiers who did not speak German could be admitted to the Giant Guards, and this made the work of the officers who had to find men for them even more difficult. When they had to choose between accepting or refusing a really tall man who knew no German, the officers used to accept him, and then teach him enough German to be able to answer if the King questioned him.

Frederick sometimes used to visit the men who were on guard around his castle at night to see that they were doing their job properly, and it was his habit to ask each new one that he saw three questions: ‘How old are you?’ ‘How long have you been in my army?’ and ‘Are you satisfied with your food and your conditions?’ The officers of the Giant Guards therefore used to teach new soldiers who did not know German the answers to these three questions.

One day, however, the King asked a new soldier the questions in different order. He began with, ‘How long have you been in my army?’ The young soldier immediately answered, ‘Twenty-two years, Your Majesty.’ Frederick was very surprised. ‘How old are you then?’ he asked the soldier. ‘Six months, Your Majesty,’ came the answer. At this Frederick became angry. ‘Am I a fool, or are you one?’ he asked. ‘Both, Your Majesty,’ the soldier answered politely