Two men were travelling together, one of whom never spoke the truth, whereas the other never told a lie: and they came in the course of their travels to the land of Apes. The King of the Apes, hearing of their arrival, ordered them to be brought before him; and by way of impressing them with his magnificence, he received them sitting on a throne, while the Apes, his subjects, were ranged in long rows on either side of him. When the Travellers came into his presence he asked them what they thought of him as a King. The lying Traveller said, "Sire, every one must see that you are a most noble and mighty monarch." "And what do you think of my subjects?" continued the King. "They," said the Traveller, "are in every way worthy of their royal master." The Ape was so delighted with his answer that he gave him a very handsome present. The other Traveller thought that if his companion was rewarded so splendidly for telling a lie, he himself would certainly receive a still greater reward for telling the truth; so, when the Ape turned to him and said, "And what, sir, is your opinion?" he replied, "I think you are a very fine Ape, and all your subjects are fine Apes too." The King of the Apes was so enraged at his reply that he ordered him to be taken away and clawed to death.
in this vibes-based economy, it is the liars who are rewarded most indeed.
I want to call this a lie, but struggle with it. It's what we'd call a white lie I guess. It's telling someone what they want to hear when they've done everything short of explicitly saying that they want to be lied to.
It may even be too much to call it a white lie. His response was something one could think of the ape as a king. It may not be the first, easiest, or only thought, but it is a thought one could have.
I take from this not that liars prosper, which they do in certain circumstances, but that telling people the most truthy truth, when it serves no one and there are other truthy truths one could tell, is foolish.
There is a tinge of irony in the lying traveller's response. Had we not been told he was a liar, then we might assume he was cleverly telling the truth, or like you said, telling a white lie.
It isn't hard to imagine the tyrant observed this cleverness and wished to reward it, being aware of the absurd station he occupied, but pleased that the lying traveller would humour him.
I think I mostly agree with your conclusion, except I'd say there are usually gradations of truth, and it is the tyrant who has the privelege to choose which one is best.