A Free Trip

A farmer took his wife to an airfield where people could get on a plane and fly for pleasure. He asked one of the pilots about the price of such a trip. The pilot told the farmer that it would cost him ten yuan for a ten-minute trip over the nearby countryside. "Ten yuan for a ten-minute trip," cried the farmer, almost shocked. "Why, that's one yuan a minute. There wouldn't be any pleasure in that for me. Isn't there any way you would cut down the price for me, friend?" "Well, I'll tell you what I'll do", replied the pilot. "Since you want to go up so much, I'll take you and your wife up for nothing if you'll agree not to say a word all the time we're up in the air. But if you say anything while we're up there, it's going to cost the full price. Is that all right to you?" The farmer thought for a few moments, and then turned to his wife, saying, "You hear that, don't you, Ma?" "Yes, James", replied his wife fearfully. So the farmer and his wife got into the plane, and a few minutes later they were flying out over the countryside. When the plane reached a height of 3 000 feet, the pilot began trying hard to make the farmer shout. He did all the flying tricks that he could, and even flew upside down for a full minute, but the farmer and his wife never made a sound, so at last the pilot gave it up as a hopeless job, and returned to the ground. "Well", he said, stretching out his hand to the farmer, who was having some difficulty in getting himself out of the plane. "Well, you've won, and the trip is yours for nothing. I must say you have great courage, man. Not many men going up for the first time could have gone through what you did without making any sound." "Yes, I should say so myself, but I tell you that you almost caught me there once, when the old lady fell out." the farmer smiled proudly.