Many years ago I read this little story and at the time felt it was funny, at least it has survived in the crannies of my mind and felt maybe someone else might get a laugh from it too.

During the olden days when traveling medicine shows were in vogue across rural America, one such entrepreneur pulled his wagon load of wares into a small mid-western town. The product touted as a "cure all" remedy for what ails you and most likely was a concoction heavily contented with alcohol and was called Uncle John's Indian River Tonic. It was more like a side show and gullible people were soon relieved of their hard to come by dollars for a bottle of the elixir. There was always a sales pitch that went something like this: Step right up and learn about Uncle John's Old Indian River Tonic, a miraculous elixir guaranteed to cure rheumatism asthma, shingles, bursitis, neuritis, neuralgia, and bad breath, or something along these lines.

This particular salesman had erected a curtain and had invited folks with ailments to come forward take a bottle of the wonder tonic and go behind the curtain and drink some from the bottle of cure all ailments drink. One dear lady, Mrs Smith came forward on crutches. the salesman reported to the crowd, "Obviously this lady is a cripple." He handed her a bottle with instructions to drink about half the bottle behind the curtain. She soon disappeared behind the curtain bottle in hand.

The next individual to come forward was a man who spoke with a lisp. His name was Mr Jones and he recounted he had been born with the condition and no treatments had been successful in eliminating his particular speech impediment. The salesman gave him a bottle and the same instructions. A few moments went by and after a little more sales pitch, the salesman yelled to Mrs Smith," Throw one of your crutches across the curtain." The crowd was astonished and in a state of awe and bewilderment by the sudden appearance of a crutch which came sailing over the curtain. They grew even more excited when the second crutch came sailing over the curtain.

The salesman then called out to Mr Jones "Mr Jones, please say something now in a loud clear voice." There was a deathly silence by the awaiting crowd as Mr Jones shouted very clearly ,"Miffes Smiff just fell on her afth."