Buying One Fish

When I was in St. Louis, I wanted to get Nilima a present because she did not come on the trip. I saw two fish, but one was black, so I took only the other one to the counter.

The man said to me, "They are a set. You have to buy both of them."

I said, "No, I don't want the other one because it is black."

The man said, "They are salt and pepper shakers. You don't want to use both salt and pepper?"

I said, "No, I'm not going to use it for that."

He asked, "What will you use it for?"

I told him, "I am going to use it as an incense burner."

The man said, "You will have to pay the full price even if you only take one."

So I said I would pay. But when I took out my money, he said, "All right, I'll charge you only for one."

-2 July 1987