A somewhat predictable oldie but amusing nevertheless.

A guy was lost in the Sahara Desert, desperate for water, when he saw something far off in the distance. Hoping to find water, he walked towards the image only to find a little old man sitting at a card table with a bunch of neckties laid out on it.

The guy asked, "Please, I’m dying of thirst, can I have some water?"

The old man replied, "I don’t have any water, but why don’t you buy a tie?. Here’s one that goes nicely with your shirt."

The guy shouted, "I don’t want a tie, you idiot! I need water!"

"OK, don’t buy a tie, but to show you what a nice guy I am, I’ll tell you that over that dune there, about five miles down, there is a nice restaurant my brother runs. Go over that way, they’ll give you all the water you want." The guy thanked him and walked away towards the dune and eventually disappeared.

Three hours later the guy came crawling back to where the old man was sitting behind his card table. The old man said, "I told you, about five miles over that dune. Couldn’t you find it?"

The guy rasped, "I found it, they wouldn’t let me in without a tie."