In this wonderful story, the Queen complains that her son must hurry and find a bride from amongst the beautiful women of the Palace. But the prince is bored by empty beauty. The Prince insists on marrying a woman who is smart, and establishes a story-telling contest (where the winner must tell a story which begins and ends with the impossible) to find the cleverest woman in the kingdom. The woman he falls for is not beautiful in traditional standards and wears simple clothing, but enchants the prince with her creativity and wit as she weaves a story with endless surprises. The story teller finds a city atop a palm tree, steps into a market inside a watermelon grown on a magical field, and, after an endless series of surprises, is ultimately shot from a canon for pulling the tail off a donkey (a false conviction by a zany judge), landing in the castle in front of the Prince. An exciting, unique story which grabs readers attention.

You can also read a copy of 'A Story That Begins And Ends With The Imagination' by going to the International Children's Digital Library, a joint project of the Internet Archive and University Of Maryland.