The Three Questions  "The Three Questions" is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy (Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy) first published in 1885 as part of the collection "What Men Live By, and Other Tales". The story takes the form of a parable, and it concerns a king who wants to find the answers to what he considers the three most important questions in life. He consults wise men, promising a large sum to anyone who could answer those questions, but their answers were too diverse and did not satisfy the king. So, he goes to a hermit in search of his help. The rest of the story revolves around both of them.