Five Bells!

Once upon a time there was an inn called the Silver Star. The innkeeper was unable to make both ends meet even though he did his very best to draw customers by making the inn comfortable, the service cordial and the prices reasonable. So in despair he consulted a wiseman.

After listening to his tale of woe, the wiseman said, “It is very simple. You must change the name of your inn.”

“Impossible!” said the innkeeper. “It has been the Silver Star for generations and is well known all over the vicinity.”

“No,” said the wiseman firmly. “You must now call it the Five Bells and have a row of six bells hanging at the entrance.”

“Six bells? But that is absurd. What good would that do?”
“Give it a try and see,” said the wiseman with a smile.

Well, the innkeeper gave it a try. And this is what he saw.

Every traveller who passed by the inn walked in to point out the mistake, each one believing that no one else had noticed it. Once inside, they were impressed by the cordiality of the service and stayed on to refresh themselves, thereby providing the inn keeper with the fortune that he had been seeking in vain for so long.

There are few things the ego delights in more, than correcting other people’s mistakes. The catch is in manipulating the circumstantial position to suit your needs!