Sir Isaac Newton and His Dinner

One day a gentleman came to visit Sir Isaac Newton just before dinnertime. The servant told him that Sir Isaac was busy working in his study.

The visitor wanted to talk to Newton about something important, so he asked if he could wait until Newton came to dinner. He sat down in the dining room. After a few minutes, the servant brought in Newton’s dinner — a boiled chicken under a silver cover.

An hour passed, but Newton did not come. The gentleman began to feel hungry. At last, he looked under the cover, saw the chicken, and started to eat it. When only the bones were left, he asked the servant to boil another chicken.

Before the second chicken was ready, Newton came down for dinner. When he saw the gentleman, he said, “I’m sorry you had to wait so long. Please, let me have my dinner quickly, because I am very tired and hungry. Then I’ll be glad to speak with you.”

He lifted the cover, saw the empty dish, and smiled. “Oh,” he said, “now I see how absent-minded we learned men are! I forgot — it seems I already had my dinner.”