[tomkow6]

Many people remember the Shah of Iran, but few people remember his
cousin, the Shan of Iran. This is because the unfortunate Shan had been
subject to epilepsy since youth. It would have been a disasterous
embarrasment to the family if the Shan's ailment had become public
knowledge, so if anyone were present when he was struck by an attack of
epilepsy, the palace guards had standing orders that those people must be
killed immediately.
Now, it came to pass that a grand party was thrown by the Shan to
celebrate his wedding day, with many many guests in attendance. Yet
crule fate was not to be denied, and in the middle of the party the Shan
was sturck by another epileptic siezure. Some of the guests, haveing
heard rumors of people mysteriously disappearing when with the Shan,
realized what would come next and made immediately for the door, and a
few actually escaped before the palace guards gained control of the
crowd. The next day one of those who had escaped noticed someone else
he'd seen at the party. He walked over and asked discreetly, "I say,
where were you when the fit hit the Shan?"