On a hungry military march, orders against foraging are apt to be liberally interpreted by both officers and men. During the Boer War*, a British division was passing a Boer farm when some of the soldiers stepped out of the ranks and confiscated a couple of geese, and a drummer unheaded his drum and put the birds inside.
Shortly afterwards the colonel, noticing the silence of the drum, rode up to the drummer and asked, "Why don't you beat that drum?" The startled drummer whispered, "Colonel, I have got a couple of geese in here." Without showing the least surprise, the officer said, "Well, if you are sick you need not play."
That night the diplomatic colonel had roast goose for supper.
行軍時候，將士饑餓，禁止掠奪的命令，全軍上下都不會嚴格遵從。波爾戰爭*期間，一師英軍走過一個波爾人的農場，有些士兵離隊，「充公」了兩隻鵝。一個鼓手把戰鼓揭開，放了那兩隻鵝進去。
不久，上校發覺那個鼓沒有響，策馬走到那鼓手跟前，問道：「你為什麼不打鼓？」那鼓手吃了一驚，低聲說：「上校，鼓裏面有兩隻鵝。」上校沒有露出絲毫驚訝神色，說道：「嗯，你不舒服，不打鼓也罷。」
那天晚上，這位圓滑的上校有烤鵝作晚餐。
*波爾戰爭是一八九九年到一九○二年英國與南非波爾人的戰爭。