Jim and Edna
Jim and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital.
One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Jim
suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool
and stayed there.
Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the
bottom and pulled Jim out. When the Director of Nursing became aware
of Edna's heroic act, she immediately ordered her to be discharged
from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable.
When she went to tell Edna the news she said, "Edna, I
have good news and bad news. The good news is you're being discharged;
since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in
and saving the life of another patient, I have concluded that your act
displays soundness of mind.
The bad news is that Jim, the patient you saved, hanged
himself in his bathroom with the belt to his robe right after you
saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead." Edna replied, "He didn't
hang himself, I put him there to dry. How soon can I go home?"