One Monday morning, a rabbi went for a walk. As he viewed the countryside, things seemed to change. He was entering a region he had never been to before, and eventually came to a sign that read Welcome to the Kingdom of Thid. Well, the rabbi was a curious man, so he continued on, looking forward to seeing how this kingdom functioned.

As he walked along, he noticed a small man, about four feet tall, rushing past him. The rabbi didn’t think too much about this, and so continued on his way. As he got nearer to the village, he noticed more and more of the little -- Thids, he supposed -- hurrying along the road, all of them heading in the same direction. Taken by this, he stopped one of the Thids.

“Excuse me, sir,” he said. “Can you tell me what the commotion is all about?”

Agitated, the little man hurried on around the rabbi. “I’ll be late!” he shouted over his shoulder.

“But where are you going?” the rabbi persisted, stepping again into the little man’s path.

“The mountain! The mountain! I have to go!”

Feeling little wiser than before, the rabbi let the man continue on his way. As he stood there watching, though, his gaze went to the mountain the Thid had shouted about, and there the rabbi saw a remarkable thing. There was a giant standing high at the summit. Astounded at this, the rabbi hurried along the road with the many Thids.

At the base of the small mountain, the rabbi looked up and watched, while the giant kicked a Thid, sending the little man in a rolling tumble down the long slope. The rabbi was amazed, hearing the Thid giggle as he rolled to a stop at his feet. The little man got quickly to his feet, then, dusting himself off, hustled around the rabbi and got into the back of a long line, one which proceeded up the slope to where the giant stood.

Watching, the rabbi saw the giant kick the next Thid down the slope, and the little man giggled all the way down, got to his feet, then hurried to get back in line. Figuring it was the thing to do -- and an interesting thing at that -- the rabbi stepped into line as well. With bubbling anticipation, the rabbi followed the line up the mountain to the giant, but when it got to be his turn, the giant looked at him, then took hold of the Thid behind the rabbi, and kicked the little man down the hill in a giggling tumble.

The rabbi frowned at this and stepped immediately in front of the next Thid. The giant, however, politely moved the rabbi aside, took hold of the next Thid, and kicked him down the hill.

“Hey!” the rabbi shouted to the giant. “It’s my turn!”

“Your turn?” The giant appeared puzzled. “How could it be your turn?” he wanted to know.

The rabbi pointed down the mountain. “I waited in line to get up here. It’s my turn.”

The giant just shook his head, chuckling. “Silly rabbi. Kicks are for Thids.”

The moral of this story:
If you’re going to go against the custom, prepare to be corrected -- in whatever method the correction officer sees as fit.

Dan