10/10/2025
The Dentist and the Fisherman
A fisherman was on his boat in the middle of a lake when he noticed something strange floating in the water. He steered his boat closer and realized it was a floating bottle. Inside the bottle was a genie.
"Thank you for freeing me!" boomed the genie. "As a reward, I will grant you one wish."
The fisherman thought for a moment. "Genie," he said, "I have always wanted to be a dentist. It has been my dream since I was a boy. I wish to be a dentist and work in a large, modern office in the biggest city."
The genie smiled. He snapped his fingers and suddenly, the fisherman was in a large, beautiful office with the words "Dr. Smith, DDS" on the door. The fisherman was thrilled! He looked around at his new office and was about to thank the genie again when he noticed a patient in the chair.
The patient had a giant mouth with hundreds of teeth, and on each tooth was a little house. The fisherman turned to the genie and asked, "What is this? What is happening?"
The genie replied, "Well, you wished to be a dentist in the biggest city."
The fisherman, now confused, asked, "So?"
The genie smiled. "The biggest city in the world is Calcutta, and Calcutta is filled with countless people, so you wished to be a dentist in Calcutta."
The fisherman said, "But what is this? I don't understand!"
The genie looked at the fisherman and replied, "And you also wished for a large, modern office."
The fisherman stammered, "Yes, but what about all these teeth and houses?!"
The genie chuckled. "You didn't specify what kind of dentist you wanted to be. You're a dentist in Calcutta, and you're working on the teeth of the giant. Each tooth has a house on it, and it is a known fact that the people of Calcutta live on the teeth of the giant."
The fisherman fainted.
Moral of the story: Be specific with your wishes.
