“Yes,” said Ananias, “but I shouldn’t think a lion could break his neck falling off a giraffe. Perhaps it was one of the slippery elm cocoanuts that fell on him.”
“Well, of course,” said the Baron, rising, “that would all depend upon the height of the giraffe. Mine was the tallest one I ever saw.”
“About how tall?” asked Ananias.
“Well,” returned the Baron, thoughtfully, as if calculating, “did you ever see the Eiffel Tower?”
“Yes,” said Ananias.
“Well,” observed the Baron, “I don’t think my giraffe was more than half as tall as that.”
With which estimate the Baron bowed his guests out of the room, and with a placid smile on his face, shook hands with himself.
“Mr. and Mrs. Ananias are charming people,” he chuckled, “but amateurs both—deadly amateurs.”