People that take all things literally are apt to tread on other people’s toes. The Irishman who walked in where he saw a sign, “Walk in,” and who was ordered out by the lawyer was a literal man, and so was the man that went into a pawnbroker’s shop and demanded ten dollars because there was a placard in the window that read,“Look at this watch for ten dollars.”
“I looked at it,” said he, “and now I want my ten dollars.”
The most amusing incident we have heard is that of the countryman who, while sauntering along a city street, saw a sign, “Please ring the bell for the janitor.”
After reflecting a few minutes he walked up and gave the bell such a pull that it nearly came out by the roots.
In a few minutes an angry-faced man opened the door.
“Are you the janitor?” asked the bell-puller.
“Yes; what do you want?”
“I saw that notice, so I rang the bell for you, and now I want to know why you can’t ring the bell yourself?”