A jockey was about to race on a new horse.
Before the race started, the horse’s trainer pulled him aside and said,
“All you need to remember is this: every time you come to a jump, shout ‘ALLLLEEE OOOP!’ as loudly as you can into the horse’s ear.”
“If you do that, everything will be fine.”
The jockey thought the trainer was crazy, but he agreed.
The race began, and they approached the first hurdle.
Ignoring the trainer’s strange advice, the jockey said nothing.
The horse crashed straight through the middle of the jump.
Shaken but determined, they continued to the second hurdle.
This time, the jockey quietly whispered,
“Aleeee ooop.”
The horse crashed through the jump again.
As they approached the third hurdle, the jockey thought,
“This is ridiculous, but I have to try it.”
So he shouted,
“ALLLLEEE OOOP!”
Immediately, the horse cleared the hurdle perfectly.
For the rest of the race, the jockey yelled the command at every jump, and the horse sailed over each one with ease.
Unfortunately, because of the mistakes at the beginning, they only finished in third place.
After the race, the trainer was furious.
“What happened?” he demanded.
The jockey replied,
“There’s nothing wrong with me. What’s wrong with this horse? Is he deaf or something?”
The trainer stared at him and said,
“Deaf? Deaf?! He’s not deaf. He’s blind!”