A clever Man

A dashing rogue named Daniel was on trial before his king. He was accused of stealing from the kings coffers. The primary method of trial in the land of his king was a trail based on faith in the gods. The king would hold a small bag before the accused and state that two grapes resided within; a white grape, representing innocence, and a red grape, representing guilt. If the person on trial draws the white grape from the bag the gods have shown that the accused is innocent, and if the red grape is drawn then the gods have exposed a wicked criminal. The king, being the vindictive and boorish man that he was, decided to put two red grapes in the bag in an effort to seal Daniel's fate. Daniel's true crime was not that of theft, but of passion. Daniel had bedded one of the kings relatives and the king had taken it as an affront to his royalty. Thus his manufacturing of the current circumstance. The dashing rogue had suspected the king might find a way to insure either his guilt or his death and so every day until his trial he pondered the possibilities of his demise in an effort to subvert the king's will. After settling on a course of action he steeled himself for the coming trial. On the day of Daniel's trail the king held forth the bag containing the grapes with a large grimace on his face. Daniel reached into the bag and retrieved a grape, but before anyone could see the color of the grape, he thrust it into his mouth, chewed it up and swallowed it. The entire crowd of witnesses gasped. The room was silent for a few moments until Daniel himself addressed the people. "Surely the remaining grape would prove my guilt or innocence. If it is white then I am a doomed man. If it is red, then I have eaten the white and therefore am innocent." He turned to the king and saw a look of shock upon his face. Daniel flashed a dazzling smile, knowing that the features of the king's face betrayed the success of his actions. He drew forth the remaining red grape and was proclaimed innocent by all.