One day, in the middle of a big wood, they came to a very old house set right on the borderline. Unable to decide to which country it should belong, they approached the inhabitants. After they rang the bell for a long time a very old but well-known philosopher opened the door. They explained their difficulties and asked him what country he would prefer to belong to.
"Oh," he said, "I have been living here for so long now, I don't care at all," and he started to shut the door.
Suddenly he opened it again and said quickly, "No, wait, put me in Poland."
The rather hurt Russian went back after an hour to ask the old philosopher what the reason for his sudden decision was.
"Oh, no special reason," he replied. "I just read in the newspapers twenty years ago that the winters in Russia are very cold."
