Story about communication: If you know the rules of the game you can win

One day a woman and a lawyer were seated next to each other on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. The lawyer asked if she would like to play a fun game.

The woman, tired, just wanted to take a nap, politely declined and rolled over to the window to catch a few winks. The lawyer persisted and explained that the game was easy and a lot of fun. He explained, “I ask you a question and if you don’t know the answer, you pay me $5.00, and vice versa.”

Again, the woman declined and tried to get some sleep. The lawyer, now willing to give up, says “Okay, if you don’t know the answer you pay me $5.00, and if I don’t know the answer, I will pay you $500.00.”

This catches the woman’s attention and, figuring there will be no end to this torment unless she plays, she finally agrees to the game. The lawyer asks the first question. “What’s the distance from the earth to the moon?” The woman doesn’t say a word, reaches into her purse pulls out a $5.00 bill and hands it to the lawyer. “Okay,” says the lawyer, “your turn.

The woman asks the lawyer, “What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four legs?”

The lawyer, puzzled, takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references, no answer. He goes online on his laptop and searches the net and he finds no answer. Frustrated, he sends e-mails and texts to all his friends and coworkers, yet still no answer. After an hour, he wakes the woman and hands her $500.00.

The woman says, “Thank you,” and turns back to get some more sleep. The lawyer, who is more than a little troubled by the question, wakes the woman and asks, “Well what’s the answer?”

Without a word, the woman reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5.00, and goes back to sleep.