As Mr. Smith was on his death bed, he attempted 
to formulate a plan that would allow him to take
at least some of his considerable wealth with 
him. He called for the three men he trusted most
his lawyer, his doctor, and his clergyman. 

He told them, 'I'm going to give you each 
$30,000 in cash before I die. At my funeral, I 
want you to place the money in my coffin so that
I can try to take it with me.' All three agreed 
to do this and were given the money. 

At the funeral, each approached the coffin in
turn and placed an envelope inside. While riding
in the limousine to the cemetery, the clergyman 
said 'I have to confess something to you fellows.
Brother Smith was a good churchman all his life, 
and I know he would have wanted me to do this. 
The church needed a new baptistery very badly, 
and I took $10,000 of the money he gave me and 
bought one. I only put $20,000 in the coffin.' 

The physician then said, 'Well, since we're 
confiding in one another, I might as well tell
you that I didn't put the full $30,000 in the 
coffin either. Smith had a disease that could 
have been diagnosed sooner if I had this very 
new machine, but the machine cost $20,000 and 
I couldn't afford it then. I used $20,000 of 
the money to buy the machine so that I might 
be able to save another patient. I know that 
Smith would have wanted me to do that.' 

The lawyer then said, 'I'm ashamed of both of 
you. When I put my envelope into that coffin, 
it held my personal check for the full $30,000.'