The Longest Story in the World (short story)

The Longest Story in the World was the first short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips and Side Steps. It was written by Paul Magrs. It featured the First Doctor and Susan.

Summary
A young woman, ordered on pain of death to entertain the Caliph and his court with a story, tells a tale of an old man and his adopted grand-daughter, who live in a world where fantasy is forbidden. Nevertheless, the grand-daughter tells stories of their future, claiming that the old man will invent a fabulous machine to take them away from here and travel through time and space, growing younger as the years pass by, fighting evil and becoming a hero.

The old man does not believe her. He fears that her tales will attract attention - and indeed, one day he returns to his home to find the guards waiting for them. The tale ends on a cliffhanger, and will resume the next night; so long as the storyteller keeps the Caliph entertained, her life will be spared.

Characters

 * First Doctor
 * Susan Foreman
 * The Caliph

Timeline
For the First Doctor:
 * The Longest Story in the World occurs after PROSE: Nightshade (flashback)''.
 * The Longest Story in the World occurs before PROSE: The Exiles.