A fellow with a bad cough comes in to the pharmacy, walks
up to the counter and asks for the pharmacist. A young
clerk tells him that the pharmacist is not available. The
man asks the young clerk if he can recommend anything for
his cough.
The clerk gives him a bottle of some medicine for his
cough. The customer takes a big swig, then after a few
minutes, with no apparent relief, he takes another, and
another.
In a short while, the pharmacist returns, and sees his old
friend, the customer with the cough, sitting quietly in a
booth near the soda fountain. He says to his clerk that
the fellow has never before stopped at the soda fountain.
The clerk proudly tells the pharmacist the story of his
transaction. The pharmacist looks at the recommended medi-
cation and angrily reprimands the clerk for recommending
a laxative, instead of cough syrup.
The clerk reminds the pharmacist the whatever the mode,
the medication was effective. "Now, he's afraid to
cough!"