A little boy was practicing the violin in the living room while his father was trying to read the newspaper in the kitchen. The family dog, lying at the father's feet, heard the screeching violin and started to howl terribly. Soon the house was full of horrible violin music and even worse howling.

The father stayed silent for as long as he could stand it. Finally he threw his newspaper down on the floor, jumped to his feet, and yelled, "For heavens sake, couldn't you play something the dog doesn't know?!"