Chapter: Scene II.
Elsinore. A passage in the Castle.

Enter Hamlet.

  Ham. Safely stow'd.
  Gentlemen. (within) Hamlet! Lord Hamlet!
  Ham. But soft! What noise? Who calls on Hamlet? O, here they
come.

               Enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

  Ros. What have you done, my lord, with the dead body?
  Ham. Compounded it with dust, whereto 'tis kin.
  Ros. Tell us where 'tis, that we may take it thence
    And bear it to the chapel.
  Ham. Do not believe it.
  Ros. Believe what?
  Ham. That I can keep your counsel, and not mine own. Besides,
to be
    demanded of a sponge, what replication should be made by the
son
    of a king?
  Ros. Take you me for a sponge, my lord?
  Ham. Ay, sir; that soaks up the King's countenance, his
rewards,
    his authorities. But such officers do the King best service
in
    the end. He keeps them, like an ape, in the corner of his
jaw;
    first mouth'd, to be last swallowed. When he needs what you
have
    glean'd, it is but squeezing you and, sponge, you shall be
dry
    again.
  Ros. I understand you not, my lord.
  Ham. I am glad of it. A knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear.
  Ros. My lord, you must tell us where the body is and go with us
to
    the King.
  Ham. The body is with the King, but the King is not with the
body.
    The King is a thing-
  Guil. A thing, my lord?
  Ham. Of nothing. Bring me to him. Hide fox, and all after.
                                                         Exeunt.

 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern meet with Hamlet, and try to convince him to give up Polonius' body, which Hamlet has hidden. Hamlet points out that Claudius' little helpers are like a sponge: they're soaking up Claudius' favors now, but Claudius is sure to wring them dry again as soon as he's done. Rosencrantz doesn't get it, which suits Hamlet just fine. They ask him again where the body is, and Hamlet answers with a riddle. He says "the body is with the king, but the king is not with the body" . This is a reference to a law that says the king has the right to enforce the laws, but that the laws don't just go away when the king dies. Hamlet starts to explain himself, but he trails off, leading Guildenstern to interrupt. This probably exactly what Hamlet wanted, because it lets him deliver the punchline that the king is nothing--nothing at all. Not a king, not a ruler, maybe not even alive when Hamlet's through with him. Then Hamlet runs off, like a kid playing tag.

