Heads up before the head off.

This reminds me of the story about Triboulet, a jester for the king of France.

One day, Tribulet slaps the French king’s ass. This makes the king so mad he threatens to have Triboulet executed if he doesn’t come up with an apology that was even more insulting than than this prank.

Tribulet responded by saying: “I’m sorry your majesty, I thought you were the Queen!”

This provoked the king even further, so he condemned him to death. However since he had served faithfully for many years, the king offered him the choice of how he would die.

So Triboulet said: “Good sire, I choose to die from old age.”

This finally made the king laugh, which led to him allowing Triboulet be banished from France instead of executed.