The Most Handsome Portrait

There was once an artist. He painted portraits for a living. He earned a large amount of money and was very famous. The secret of his succes was simple. He didn't paint people as they really looked. He painted them as they wanted to look. The old men, he painted a little younger. The fat women, he painted a little thinner. So, people were always pleased. And the painter always had lots of customers. One day, an unusual customer visited the painter's studio. He was the ugliest man the painter had ever seen. His face was covered in dark hair. He had tiny eyes and horrible, long dark teeth. He wanted a portrait of himself. The man paid his money and sat down. An hour later, the portrait was done. The artist nervously turned it around for his customer. The man was angry. The portrait looked nothing like him. He demanded his money back. Just then, the artist's cleaning lady came in. She looked at the portrait and said how handsome the man looked in it. "Yes, thank you", said the man suddendly with a smile. " It's a perfect likeness". He took his painting under his arm and left.