Background:
This “story” was from my friend; It is commonly told to children, including my informants and myself. Its structure is very simple, And variations were using different sentence structures to tell the same story. People would also connect different stories or sentences after the story to make it surprising. This story is simple, with only a few sentences, but it can be told in a loop.

Context:
When my informant asked her parents and grandparents to tell a story, they sometimes would perfunctorily tell this story and repeat it until my informant was bored. This story is also used between children to bother and tease each other until they are bored.

Main Piece:
从前有座山，山里有座庙，庙里有个老和尚。老和尚在给小和尚讲故事。老和尚说：从前有座山…
Translation: Once upon a time, there was a mountain. Inside the mountain, there was a temple. Inside the temple, there was an old monk. The old monk is telling a story to the little monk. The old monk said: once upon a time, there was a mountain…

Analysis:
This piece of folklore has the interesting nature of being potentially endless. It is interesting that while people consider it to be boring, it is still told by people. One possible explanation of the story is that it imitates the monks praying. When monks prayed, they would read the sacred texts out loud. The texts are obscure, and the monks murmur when speaking, which sounds boring and endless to many listeners. Thus, the old monk in the story is telling a boring story to the old monk.