Twenty-year-old Norton was bitterly disappointed at not being cast as Joseph in the church school Nativity pageant. He was given the minor role of the innkeeper instead. Throughout the weeks of rehearsal he brooded on how he could avenge himself on his little brother, Wayne, who had been awarded the part of Joseph. On the day of the performance, Wayne (as Joseph) and his sister Kelly (as Mary) made their entrance and knocked on the door of the inn. Norton (the innkeeper) opened it a fraction and eyed them with suspicion.
Joseph implored, "Can you give us board and lodging for the night?" He then stood back awaiting the expected rejection. But Norton had not plotted all those weeks for nothing. He flung the door wide, smiled, and shouted, "Come in, come in! You shall have the best room in the hotel."
There was a long pause. Then with great presence of mind, Wayne turned and said to Kelly, "Hold on. I'll take a look inside first." He peered past the innkeeper, shook his head firmly and said, "I'm not taking my wife into a filthy place like this. Come on, Mary, I'd rather sleep in a stable."
The pageant was back on course.
- Encyclopedia of Humor by Lowell Streiker
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