The doorbell rings. Bill opens the door. On the threshold, he sees a local vagrant.
- Hello, - says the vagrant, - as usual, I was going around the garbage pits and in one of them found a wallet with $1,000 and your ID. You must have thrown it away by mistake.
- Right! – says Bill joyfully. - My wallet! Thank you so much!
- Please check the contents - the vagrant asks.
- One thousand even! – confirms Bill, counting the bills hastily. Then he takes a $20 bill out of the pack and gives it to the vagrant. - This is from me with thanks!
They part, being quite content with each other.
- Who was it? – Bill’s wife asks.
Bill laughs and tells his wife what happened.
Why’s it funny?
When returning the wallet, the vagrant had high hopes for gratitude.
But there was a chance that Bill wouldn’t have any broken money at hand.
In the wallet, there were only $100 bills.
Would Bill agree to pay such a large amount?
And the vagrant made a wise decision. Before returning the wallet, he had exchanged one hundred for smaller bills – 5, 10, 20, 50, deciding that thus Bill would be able to choose the amount to thank him with.
It was the vagrant’s forethought that made Bill laugh.