A prominent merchant, whenever he visited Warsaw, always
stayed that the same hotel, the most elegant hotel in the city. On one occasion, however, he stayed in a
shabby place much to the dismay of the owner of the other hotel keeper.
The following day the merchant visited the proprietor of the
grand hotel and said, “I understand that you are amazed that I stayed at such
a common place. I assure you that my not
staying at your hotel this time was an honor.
"The midrash relates that when one comes to a city regarding
a shidduch (an marriage arrangement) he should be attentive to barking
dogs. I have come to the city to check
on the reputation of the family, whose daughter was suggested as a bride for my
son. Since I know that both your guests
and your staff are highly reputed, decent people, who would speak no evil of
others, I decided to go tot a place where I could obtain such information. I know that if the bride or her family had any blemish, the dogs there would bark it out."
Moral: Evil talk can only be heard from evil people.
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