A merchant in a small town ran for an office and was overwhelmingly defeated. He polled so few votes that he appeared ridiculous in the eyes of his neighbors, and both his social and business standing were in danger. It’s hard to be laughed at and still hold your ground. But this merchant was a good sport. What is more, he knew the perils of becoming the town joke. So he beat the town to it! The morning after the election, he put a sign in his window: “$25 reward for the name of the man who cast that vote for me.” Everybody saw it, and everybody laughed. But they laughed with him and not at him. People came into his store to shake hands and congratulate him on his sense of humor and sportsmanship. The story of the sign went the rounds of the county, and farmers began to drop into his store to trade. Thus the merchant turned defeat into a personal triumph by proving that he was the town’s best loser.