Two Americans were backpacking in Europe when a car
pulled up next to them. The driver rolled down his window and asked in
German "Where is the nearest petrol diner?"
The two Americans, not knowing a fraction of
German, stared blankly at the driver. "Sorry, but we have no idea what
you are saying".
The driver tried again in French and again was met
with blank stares and shakes of the head from the two tourists. Getting
frustrated, he tried again in Italian, in Spanish, each time receiving
nothing but sheepish smiles from the two of them. Finally, he cursed
under his breath and drove away angrily.
The first American asked his partner "Maybe we should learn a second language".
His partner shrugged and replied "Why? That dude knew four languages and it didn't help him one bit".
