Happy Pessah!

The Queen in a small European principality was
bestowing knighthood upon men who had in some way
helped her or her country. The men all knelt before her,
and participated in a ceremony so old that its words
had degenerated into meaningless syllables. The Queen
would touch her sword to the shoulder of a man, say " I
knight thee Sir William Thompson; Holla Rolla Wolla
Bolla!" Sir William would ansswer "Holla Rolla Wolla
Bolla," and the Queen moved on to the next kneeling
man. When she came to one man, new to the country
and unaccustomed to its traditions, she said "I knight
thee Sir Hymie Ginsberg, Holla Rolla Wolla Bolla." The
new knight in his stage fright could not remember the
nonsense words, and blurted out the first ritual words
that came to his mind: "Ma nishtana halailah hazeh
michol hallelos?" The Queen turned to a courtier, and
pointing to this new nobleman, said "Why is this knight
different from all other knights?"

thanx Sam Hinton, La Jolla, CA, 4/12/98