Malevolent aristocracy

One day, while cavorting with a Countess, the King learns of a plot on his life. The Count and several other noblemen plan to assassinate him, but alas, the Countess does not know any of the details.

Immediately, the king has the Count thrown in the dungeon and tortured. After a couple hours, the king went down to the dungeon. "Who are the others?" he demanded. "I'll never tell," says the Count. So the king sends the Count back to the rack.

The next morning, after a sleepless night, the king again questions the Count. "How were you planning to kill me?" The Count spit blood from his broken mouth. "Go to hell!" he cried.

That afternoon, ever more nervous, the king orders the Count dragged to the courtyard. There, the executioner is sharpening his axe. the Count is forced to kneel before the block. The King demands one more time. "The names of the others, or off with your head." The Count lets loose a stream of curses. Left with no other choice, the King orders the execution.

With his head on the block and a bag on his head, the Count starts to tremble. The executioner raises his axe. Just as it starts to fall, the Count yells "Wait! I'll talk!" But it was too late. The axe fell and the Count was dead. The next morning, the King was poisoned and died, never knowing who the other villains were.

This story has a simple but timeless moral. Never hatchet your Counts before they chicken.