The tenant was complaining to his landlord, “Those people upstairs are very annoying.  Last night they stomped and banged on the floor until midnight.”  
“I’m sorry,” said the landlord, “Did they wake you?”  
“No,” replied the tenant.  “Luckily, I was awake and playing my tuba at the time.”

What’s So Funny?

The tenant was complaining about the upstairs neighbors making noise late at night.  However, the reason they were stomping on the floor was to tell the tenant below to stop playing his loud instrument late at night.

Vocabulary

tenant = person who is renting a house or apartment
landlord = person who owns the building and is renting it to a tenant
stomp = to step heavily on the floor and make loud noises with the feet
tuba = large, brass instrument