A man was having a few in the local bar
when he noticed a sailor sitting at the other end of the bar. The sailor had a
completely normal physique except for one anomaly: his head was tiny, about the size
of an orange.
The man stared at the sailor in puzzlement, and after a few more drinks screwed up his
courage to go over and ask the sailor how his condition had come about.
The sailor took the question in good humor, and explained that some time ago he had
been shipwrecked. “I came to,” he explained, “on this beautiful little beach, and heard
this sad little whimpering sound behind some rocks on the shore. Investigating, I saw
that it was this gorgeous mermaid who had been stranded on the rocks, so I carried
her back to the water’s edge. And she was so grateful that she promised to grant me
any three wishes. Well, as you can imagine, my first wish was that I get off that god-
forsaken island in one piece. “ ‘I’ll grant you that one after you’ve had the first two,’
she said. “So next I told her I’d like to be rich beyond dreams. And—whammo—there
on the beach appeared a chest full of gold and jewels. And then, being a normal sort
of guy—and she was cute, believe me—I asked if we could make love.”
‘Look at me,’ said the mermaid. ‘It’s easy to see I’m not built for that sort of thing.’ “So
I says to her, ‘Okay, how about a little head!’”