Sir William Thompson was very deaf but he did not like people to know this． One evening he had invited several friendsto dinner， and while they were sitting at the table， one of thefriends told a funny story． Everyone laughed， and SirWilliam， who had laughed as loud as anyone， said，“That was a very funny joke， but I know a funnier one． Would you liketo hear it？” They all said they would， so Sir William began hisstory． When it ended， everyone laughed louder than ever andSir William smiled happily． But he didn't know the reason for their laughter． He had told the very same story that his friendhad just told．