Great Presence of Mind

A group of people were talking about strange things that had happened to them.

"When I was in India," said one of them, "I saw a tiger come down to the water where some women were washing clothes. It was a very fierce tiger, but one woman, with great presence of mind, splashed some water in its face — and it ran away."

"Gentlemen," said a man in an armchair, "you may be sure that story is true. Some minutes after this incident, I was coming down to the water. I met this tiger and, as I always do, stroked its whiskers. Gentlemen, those whiskers were wet!"