Guilbeau was a wealthy old Cajun. As he was lying on his deathbed, he was trying to devise a plan that would allow him to take at least some of his considerable wealth with him.

He called for the three men he trusted most – his priest, his doctor, and his good friend, Boudreau. He told them, “I’m gonna give ya each $30,000 in cash befo’ I die. At my funeral, I want y’all ta place da money in my coffin so dat I can try ta take it wit’ me.”

All three agreed to do this and were given the money. At the funeral, each approached the coffin in turn and placed an envelope inside.

While riding in the limousine to the cemetery, the priest said, “I have to confess something to you fellows. Ole Guilbeau was a good Catholic all his life, and I know he would have wanted me to do this. The church needed a new organ very badly so I took $10,000 of the money he gave me and bought one. I only put $20,000 in the coffin.”

The doctor said, “Well, since we’re confiding in one another, I might as well tell you that I didn’t put the full $30,000 in the coffin, either. Guilbeau had a disease that could have been diagnosed sooner if I had had the latest in technology. But the machine cost $20,000 and I couldn’t afford it then. I used $20,000 of the money to buy the machine so that I might be able to save another patient. I know that Guilbeau would have wanted me to do that, so I put only $10,000 in his coffin.”

Boudreau said, “I can’t belief what I’m hearin’, me! I’m so ashamed o’ both o’ y’all. When I put my anvelope in dat coffin, dere, it had my personal check fo’ da full tirty thousand dollars!”