Illustration: Spare No Expense at Christmas

On Christmas Eve, at the last minute, a new husband remembered he needed to buy his wife a present. He tended to be a bit tight and was unable to decide exactly what he would get. He went into an upscale department store, went to the cosmetics counter and asked the clerk, “How about some perfume?” She showed him a bottle that cost $200. He declared this was too expensive. The salesperson returned with another bottle for $100. “Still too expensive,” he said. In exasperation, she came out with a bottle for $10. The man rejected that one and said, “I want to see something really cheap.” The clerk handed him a mirror.