[ WP ] Rewrite your favorite knock-knock joke as a serious story .

The torrential rain washed away any hope of finding dry shelter. The traveler's heavy cloth coat, so helpful against the bitter winter cold, was his worst enemy in this lukewarm thunderstorm. It seemed to soak in every drop and hold it, the weight of his mounting worries manifesting themself all too literally in his drenched garb. He had been walking for hours in this wood with no sign of civillzation; he gritted his teeth against the idea of setting up his tent in this downpour. 
 
 Then, as though the forces that control the universe had decided he had finally had enough, a side path that branched off to somewhere sprang up, and a quick inspection showed that somewhere to be an enormous victorian mansion, almost indiscernable through the rain and against the twilight sky. The traveler dashed toward it, the otherwise ominous gargoyles looking more like butlers with warm towels. 
 
 He reached the door and, despite his conditions, had to take a moment to revel in the house's magnitude. The front door alone dwarfed him, and one of the heavy brass knockers looked like it cost more than he had made in his lifetime. He steeled himself, knowing full well that this could not be a place of charity, and knocked anyway: 
 
 *Knock, Knock* 
 
 He stood a moment, looking in miserable expectancy at the door until it finally creaked open. A man in a dark robe appeared, illuminated only by a few dim torches on the inside. His eyes covered in shadow, the traveler could only assume this gentleman was sizing him up, analyzing him. He then seemed to look about the area, expecting to see - to be honest, the traveler had no idea. He only cared about the dryness of inside, and, having hammered the gavel, all he could do was wait as he recieved his verdict. Finally, the hooded man, satisfied, said: 
 
 `` Come in.''
