The king, a firm-jawed and steely-eyed tyrant who was no connoisseur of puns, finally got fed up with his jester's endless string of puns, especially puns about him, which struck him as lacking in sufficient awe and respect. He was aware, however, that puns were his jester's main stock in trade, and he did amuse the rest of the court, so he gave him a stern warning:

"Henceforth, fool, you may commit your puns on any subject in the land--except me, your king."
"But sire," quoth the jester, "by definition, you, the king, are not a subject!"
That did it! "Take this fool out and hang him!" bellowed the outraged monarch.
But as the jester stood on the gallows with the noose around his neck, the king stepped forth and spoke.
"I have relented," he said. "I will spare your life, if you swear never to commit another pun as long as you live."
"Oh, thank you, sire!" said the jester. "After all, no noose is good noose! Har-de-har-har-har--GAAAAK!!"

Don Firth