Rabinovich works as a trade official, and he's told he's about to be fired for incompetence. "Please, I have a family to feed!" he begs.
His Party boss gives him an impossible challenge as a test. "Alright then, you will fly to France and try and sell a thousand liters of Soviet perfume. If you do it, you can keep your job and get a bonus too."
Rabinovich is sent off, and a week later, his boss gets a telegram: "Contract made, here's the address for the perfume."
He returns home, but his boss is still skeptical and wants another test. "Fly to Morocco and sell as many Soviet oranges as you can."
Two weeks later, the boss gets another telegram: "Morocco is buying Soviet oranges in any quantity, send the first shipment to this address."
Rabinovich returns and receives another bonus, but his boss gives one final test. "Fly to China and sell Soviet-made sneakers. If you do it, you'll be made head of the local trade ministry."
The first month goes by with no word, then the second, then the third. Four months later, Rabinovich sends a telegram saying "China is buying sneakers in any quantity, send the first shipment to this address."
When Rabinovich returns, he gets a hero's welcome at the trade ministry, and the Party boss says "I can't believe you did it! But tell me, why did this one take so long!"
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find another Jew in China?"
No comments:
Post a Comment