John was awakened at 4:00 a.m.

John, known for his courteous and considerate nature, was startled awake one morning at 4:00 a.m. by the sound of his ringing phone. On the other end, an irritated caller complained, “Your dog is barking and keeping me from sleeping.”

Remaining calm and polite, John thanked the caller and asked for his name and number before ending the call.

The following morning, at exactly 4:00 a.m., John returned the call. “Good morning, Mr. Williams,” he said politely. “I’m calling to let you know that I don’t own a dog.”

While working on a school assignment, a young girl approached her father with a question: “Dad, what’s the difference between anger and exasperation?”

Her father replied, “The difference is mainly in intensity. Let me demonstrate.”

He picked up the phone and dialed a random number. When someone answered, he asked, “Hello, is Melvin there?”

The man responded sharply, “There’s no one named Melvin here. You should check the number before calling!”

Turning to his daughter, the father said, “You see? He wasn’t pleased. We probably interrupted him. Now watch this.”

He dialed the same number again and repeated, “Hello, is Melvin there?”

This time, the voice on the other end grew angrier: “Listen! You just called, and I already told you there’s no Melvin here. How dare you call again!” before slamming the phone down.

The father then explained, “That was anger. Now I’ll show you exasperation.”

He dialed once more. A furious voice answered, “Hello!”

Calmly, the father said, “Hi, this is Melvin. Has anyone called for me?”