Honesty is the best policy, but as one clever traveler discovered, it can also be the most effective tool for a little harmless smuggling. The scene was an airport customs hall, where a woman who had enjoyed a luxurious Swiss holiday was about to execute a perfect plan. Her partner in crime was an unwitting one: a gentle priest she had enlisted to help her bypass the duty on a costly personal device.
Her proposal was simple: hide the device under his robe. The priest, a man of unwavering principle, consented but drew a hard line at deception. “I cannot tell a lie,” he informed her. The woman, seeing no problem with this, was sure his honest nature was all the cover they needed. The stage was set for a comedy of errors, or perhaps, a comedy of utter truthfulness.
When the customs officer asked the priest if he had anything to declare, the holy man gave a response that was both literal and brilliantly misleading. “From my head down to my waist, nothing to declare,” he stated. This peculiar qualification inevitably led to the next question. The priest then described the concealed object with devastating accuracy and innocence, calling it a device for women that had never been used.
The officer’s mind, as the traveler had predicted, jumped to the most embarrassing conclusion. Rather than probe further into what sounded like a highly private matter, the officer, blushing, quickly ended the interaction. The priest passed through without technically lying, and the woman retrieved her item without paying a fee. The story is a hilarious reminder that the whole truth can sometimes be more deceptive than any lie, and that a little clever wording can go a very long way.
