Three men — a Scotsman, an Englishman, and an Irishman — were walking along the beach one afternoon when they spotted an old lantern half-buried in the sand.

The Scotsman picked it up, brushed it off, and suddenly a genie appeared in a cloud of smoke.

“I will grant each of you one wish,” said the genie.

The Scotsman stepped forward first.

“I come from a long line of fishermen,” he said. “My father was a fisherman, his father before him was a fisherman, and my son will be one too. I wish for the oceans to be full of fish forever.”

The genie blinked, and instantly the seas were teeming with fish.

The Englishman was amazed.

“For my wish,” he said proudly, “I want a great wall built around England, strong enough to protect it forever, so no one can get in.”

The genie blinked again, and a massive wall appeared around England.

The Irishman scratched his chin.

“Tell me more about this wall,” he said.

The genie replied, “It is 150 feet high, 50 feet thick, and completely surrounds England. Nothing can get in or out.”

The Irishman smiled and said,

“Fill it up with water.”