"Tickled to Death"

An influential Londoner wound up a business trip
to the Orient with a visit to Taipei. At a luncheon he
was asked to say a few words. Since he spoke
not a word of Chinese, his address was to be
translated by an interpreter sentence by sentence.

"I want you to know," he began, "I'm tickled to
death to be asked here today."

A look of panicked confusion appeared on the
interpreter's face. "This poor man," he said in
Chinese, "Scratches himself until he dies,
only to be with you today."