The train was very crowded, so the soldier walked the full length
of the train, searching for an empty seat. The only unoccupied seat was
that next to a middle aged, well dressed French woman and was being used
by a well coiffured poodle. The war weary soldier asked, "Please ma'am,
may I sit in that seat?"
The French woman looked down her nose at the soldier, sniffed and said,
"You Americans, you are a very rude class of people. Can't you see my
little Fifi is using that seat?"
The soldier walked away, limping on his wounded leg, eager to find a
place to rest, but after walking the full length of the train found
himself standing before the same lady with the dog. Again he asked,
"Please, lady, May I sit there? I am exhausted.
The French woman wrinkled her nose and snorted, "You Americans are
not only rude but you are also arrogant and disrespectful."
With this the weary soldier very calmly reached down, picked up the
dog and briskly threw it out of the window of the moving train and sat
down in the empty seat.
The woman shrieked and railed, and demanded that someone defend her
and chastise the soldier.
An English gentleman sitting across the aisle
spoke in a very calm, strong voice. "You know sir, you Americans do seem
to have a penchant for doing the wrong thing. You eat with the wrong
hand, you drive on the wrong side of the road, and now sir, you have
thrown the wrong bitch out of the window."
