Samuel Clemens was born on November 30th, 1835. In fact, Mark Twain was his penname and he got it from the call ("Mark twain!"—meaning by the mark of two fathoms) used when people measured (测量) how deep the water was.
Mark Twain was also famous in his day as a public speaker besides a writer. In his public speeches he always told funny stories. He also liked to play jokes on his friends. One day one of his friends lost his wallet and asked Mark Twain to pay his train fare(费用) for him.
"But I don’t have enough money to pay both your fare and mine", Mark Twain said. The friend did not know what to do.
"I’ve got an idea", said Mark Twain. " We can get on the train and when the conductor (列车 员) comes to check the tickets, you can hide under my seat. "
Later, however, when the conductor came to check the tickets, Mark Twain gave him two tickets—one for his friend and the other for himself. Then he explained in a loud voice, "I have a strange friend. When he travels by train, he doesn’t like to sit on the seat. He likes to lie on the floor under the seat. " Then everyone on the train looked at the poor friend and laughed at him loudly.
Why did the man ask Mark Twain to pay the fare for him