Joke

Once upon a time, in Medieval England, a provincial baron’s castle was under siege from a neighboring, rival baron. Day and night, the attackers launched catapulted fireballs of burning pitch, yeomen launched flight after flight of deadly arrows at the ramparts of the castle.

Little by little, the resources of the villagers huddled in the castle were dwindling away; almost no water, no wheat to make bread, no meat at all. Finally, the “mayor” of the peasants went to the baron and begged him to send for help.

The baron, sensing that if he didn't do something soon, the peasants under his care would revolt and he would no longer be able to expect him to work his far-flung estate lands. So, the baron sent a knight on horseback to the nearest province to ask another baron for help in repelling the attackers.

As it happened, the attacking baron had constructed a huge, yellow hand and as soon as the knight left the castle to ride for help, the yellow hand immediately grasped the aid-seeking knight and crushed him, armor and all, into a small ball and was immediately flung back over the castle walls.

Undaunted, the poor baron in the castle sent out several more brave knights but each was captured and crushed by that giant yellow hand and again, one-by-one, flung back over the castle wall in a small ball.

Finally, the baron’s court magician, Marvin (Merlin’s cousin, since Merlin was busy elsewhere), provided a solution to the problem. He advised the baron, “That yellow hand is formidable, Your Excellency, you should send out your lowliest court page to seek help.”

“But how will that help? My pages carry no armament, and most of them do not know how to ride a steed, “ whined the baron.

“Sire,” replied Marvin, “haven't you heard that you should let your pages do the walking through the yellow fingers?”