When sailors are allowed ashore, after a long time at sea, they sometimes get drunk and cause trouble. For this reason, the navy always has naval police in big ports. When sailors cause trouble the naval police come and deal with them.
One day, the naval police in one big seaport received an urgent telephone call from a bar in the town. The barman said that a big sailor had got drunk and was breaking the furniture in the bar. The petty officer who was in charge of the naval police on guard that evening said that he would come immediately.
Now petty officers who had to go and deal with sailors who were violently drunk usually chose the biggest naval policeman they could find to go with them. But this particular petty officer did not do this. Instead, he chose the smallest and weakest-looking man he could find to go to the bar with him to arrest the sailor who was breaking the furniture.
Another petty officer who happened to be there was surprised when he saw the petty officer of the guard choose this small man, so he said to him, “Why don't you take a big man with you? You may have to fight the sailor who is drunk.”
“Yes, you are quite right,” answered the petty officer of the guard. “This is exactly why I am taking this small man. If you saw two policemen coming to arrest you, and one of them was much smaller than the other, which one would you attack?”
海员经过很长一段时间的航海后，获准上岸时，有时会醉酒惹事。鉴于此，海军一般在各大港口都配有海军警察。海员一旦惹了事，警察就会赶来解决。
有一天，驻守在一个大海港的海军警察接到了一通从镇上酒吧打来的紧急电话。服务员说有个大块头海员喝多了，正在砸酒吧里的家具。当晚值班的士官说他马上就到。
士官们因为要去现场处理海员醉酒的问题，一般都会选择手下块儿头最大的警员一同前往。但是这位士官偏偏不这样，他选了一个看起来最弱小的陪着去酒吧逮捕损坏家具的海员。
另一位碰巧在场的士官看到值班同事带了这么个小块头一起来，惊讶极了，就问他：“怎么不带个壮汉来呢？你可能还得跟醉酒海员搏斗呢。”
“是啊，你说得没错。”值班官员说。“正是因为这样，我才带他来的。要是你看见两个警察过来抓你，一个比另一个弱小得多，你冲谁动手？”
petty officer n. (海军的)士官
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