In the large hall stood a massive chestnut wood table carved by a foreign carpenter, which had never once been dined upon. Every year, the countess commissioned three esteemed carvers to adorn the table, and gave the best of them a lavish prize. As the wooden surface filled up from year to year, the competitors endeavored to engrave more glorious yet also more delicate and subtle carvings than their predecessors, limited only by the remaining space. Thus the work became so demanding that only the most skilled and exacting of men could perform it. On the jubilee year, despite the participation of the two most talented carvers in the world, the winner was the third contestant, who, after his adversaries had finished, coated the table with a layer of clear varnish and did nothing more. The year after that, the prize was shared by three porters for cutting the table into three sections and hauling it away.