A scorpion came out of the desert to the banks of the Nile, whereupon he accosted a crocodile. "My dear chap," he said to the crocodile, "could we form an alliance to get to the other side of the Nile?"
The crocodile answered, "Do you think I am stupid? I would be at your complete mercy. You could sting me and kill me at any time during the crossing."
"Of course not," said the scorpion. "I promise not to sting you, because if I did sting you, I would drown."
The crocodile thought for a second and then agreed this made sense and took the scorpion on his back. About midstream, the scorpion became agitated and stung the crocodile.
As the two were about to go under, the crocodile turned to the scorpion and said, "Now we will both die. What possible explanation or logic is there for such an act?"
"There is none," said the scorpion, "this is the Middle East.
