I heard the same joke, but replace black bean with garbanzo bean (which is another name for a chickpea). Love that joke.

If their boss was being a problem, make sure you don’t tell them specific details about how the employee helped. Especially if the employee bent some rules or otherwise went above what they should have. It might get the employee in trouble.

Could you expand on your second rule? What do you mean by “never tell the whole truth”?