Looking for a book of storyteller tales

Question

I am looking for a book where a story teller made a bet with the king, "I will tell you a story and if you call me a liar, I win". So all the king had to do was not call the story teller a liar. so he tells the king a story of how he leaped from one mountain top to another, how he skinned a flea and packed a whole field of wheat inside its skin, and other such wild claims. At the end of it all the kings reached his breaking point and called him a liar. Does anyone know the author of this story or the book title?

Answer 1

The story is called The Lying Irishman and it's in a book called Stories Never Told by Rose Wills. You can see it on Google books here.

I have to confess that I know nothing about the author, so whether she originated the story or whether it is a variant of some other folk story I have no idea. The story is very close to your description but not an exact match. For example there is nothing about packing a field of wheat into the skin of the flea. So it's possible you've read some other story related to Rose Wills' story.