I did write about this a long time ago, what I was thinking about.
Benjamin Smith was the curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, although his primary job was to keep all of the exhibits clean and polished. One day he happened to be dusting around the Arabian exhibit, and he noticed an ancient urn that needed some cleaning. He got out his dust rag and began polishing.
An enormous genie appeared before him. “Master,” the genie began, “I am the genie of the urn. I can grant you three wishes, but there is one condition I will put on you — you must never shave or cut your beard for the rest of your life, or you will be forced to take my place inside the urn forever.” Benny thought about it for a bit, and decided it was a fair condition for three wishes. So Benny made his three wishes and became tremendously happy. Over the years, Benny’s beard became longer and longer until it almost reached the floor. As it grew longer, it began to itch more and more. He tried to ignore it, but the itch constantly became worse. Finally he decided he had to get rid of the beard and he shaved it off. Instantly he was trapped in the urn to stay there forever.
The moral of the story: A BENNY SHAVED IS A BENNY URNED.
Peter Ustinov does tell the story a bit better.
OK, not quite that way! A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned!!!!
At least the punchline wasn’t, “… you think I wished for a 12-inch pianist?”
