George and Dragon

[thor]

An 18th-century vagabond in England, exhausted and famished,
came to a roadside inn with a sign reading,
“George and the Dragon.” He knocked.

The innkeeper’s wife stuck her head out a window.
“Could ye spare some victuals?” he asked.

The woman glanced at his shabby, dirty clothes.
“No!” she shouted.

“Could I have a pint of ale?”

“No!” she shouted.

“Could I at least sleep in your stable?”

“No!” she shouted again.

The vagabond said, “Might I please…”

“What now?” the woman screeched, not allowing him to finish.

“D’ye suppose,” he asked, “that I might have a word with George?”