From _The Exploits of the Incomparable Mullah Nasrudin_ by Indries Shah, The Octagon Press Ltd., London, 1983 as quoted in _Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods_ by Michael Quinn Patton, Sage Publications, 1990. Reprinted without permission. A man had fallen between the rails in a subway station. People were all crowding around trying to get him out before the train ran him over. They were all shouting. "Give me your hand!" but the man would not reach up. Mulla Nasrudin elbowed his way through the crowd and leaned over the man. "Friend," he asked, "what is your profession?" "I am an income tax inspector," gasped the man. "In that case," said Nasrudin, "take my hand!" The man immediately grasped the Mulla's hand and was hauled to safety. Nasrudin turned to the amazed by-standers. "Never ask a tax man to give you anything, you fools."
(From the "Rest" of RHF)