A man walks into an ice cream parlor and says,
"Can I have a pint of chocolate ice cream, 
please?"  

The clerk looks up and says, "Sorry sir, but 
we don't have any chocolate left."

The man thinks a moment and then says, "OK, 
I'll have two scoops of chocolate ice cream, 
then."  

The clerk grows frustrated and replies, "No, 
I'm sorry, there IS NO CHOCOLATE."

The man apologizes and stares at the menu for a 
while, and then says, "Fine, give me just one 
scoop of chocolate ice cream, please."

The clerk takes a breath and says, "Sir, could 
you please spell VAN, as in 'vanilla'?"  

The man is intrigued, so he spells out, "V-A-N."

The clerk nods.  "Now spell STRAW, as in
'strawberry', please?"  

"S-T-R-A-W", replies the man.

"And finally, spell STINK, as in 'chocolate'?"

The man starts to say "S-T... wait a minute, 
there's no 'stink' in 'chocolate'!"

"NOW we understand each other!" the clerk 
exclaims.