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Bill, a traveling stranger walked along a busy street in downtown Sacramento in search of the Macaroni Factory.
He spied Betty, a local resident who was out for a walk.
Bill approached Betty and asked, “Excuse me ma’am, I’m lost. Can you direct me to the Macaroni Factory?
Betty made a puzzled look and replied, “The Macaroni factory? No, I don’t believe I know where that is.”
Bill thanked her.
They continued their walks in opposite directions.
About a block down the street Betty ran into Bob, an old friend.
“Say, Bob, there was a fellow just now who stopped me to ask for directions to the Macaroni Factory. I don’t know where it is, do you?”
“No,” Bob responded, “I don’t know where any macaroni factory is, but I wonder if he meant the Spaghetti Factory?”
“That’s it!” Betty responds excitedly, “I’ll bet he meant the Spaghetti factory, not macaroni factory. Come on, Bob lets find him and ask. He can’t be far away.”
The pair hurried up the street and soon caught up with Bill.
“Hey mister,” Betty said. “You asked me a bit ago where the macaroni factory is. Did you mean to say Spaghetti Factory?”
“Yes,” Bill responded, nodding his head in relief. “The Spaghetti Factory. That’s the name.”
Betty smiled proudly at Bob and said “You are one smart fellow!”
“Yes,” Bill agrees, “I am so bad with names sometimes. Now, can you direct me to the Spaghetti Factory?”
Betty and Bob shrug their shoulders.
“We don’t know where that is either.”
Credit – adaptation of original published in The Toastmaster March 1937 Volume 3 No 1, ZWIEBACK page 1-17
