| The Same Age Next Year
A grocer once had a daughter born to him.
One day a friend of his made a match for his babygirl, and told him the future husband was only
one year older than she was.
The grocer discussed this marriage in private
with his wife. "Our daughter is just one, the boy's
age is the double of hers; when she is twenty and
gets married, her husband will be forty," be said.
"How do we have the heart to marry off our daughter to such an old husband?"
His wife smiled and said, "You're really dumb.
Our daughter is now one year old, in one years
time she'll be the same age as the boy, now won't
she?"
Whom to Depend on
There once was an old man aged 50, who had
a lazy son aged 30. The son couldn't earn his
own living, and still depended on his old father
for food and clothing.
The old man was very worried about him, so
he took him to the fortune teller to have his fortune told. The father and son both believed the
fortune teller's prediction that the father would
live to 80 and the son to 62.
After having found out how long they were
going to live the son was very sad. His father
comforted him.
"Don't be so sad! You are only 30 now, and
still have 32 years of good days ahead of you."
"I'm not worrying about my own age. It's
just your age which causes me great anxiety,"
the son said.
Upon hearing his words, the father was deeply
moved, and in tears said, "Don't worry about me
so much I've got 30 years ahead of me too."
"I'm not worried about your age either,"
said the son, "I have figured out that you'll die
two years earlier than I. So whom will I depend
on in the two years after your death?"
It Doesn't Matter If It Is Leaking!
A ferry boat was once crossing a river.
Suddenly the boat struck a rock and water relentlessly poured into the cabin. The passengers
were frightened out of their wits. Only one man
sat calmly as if nothing had happened and even
laughed at the way the others were so alarmed.
"Don't worry! It's not our problem," the
man said. "It doesn't matter if it's leaking because it's not our boat."
 Blind Faith in Geomantic Omens
There once was a man who had a superstitious faith in geomantic omens. He consulted
the geomancer beforehand concerning all signs
beneficial. or unfortunate.
One day, while he was sitting at the foot of
a wall, the wall collapsed on top of him. He cried,
"Help!" His servants came over to have a look
and said, "Be patient, Master. Let's ask the geomancer if it is a good omen to break the ground
today."
Borrowing a Cow
A man once wanted to borrow a cow from a wealthy man, so he had his servant send a note to the wealthy man. The rich man, who was
entertaining some guests, took the note and ashamed to be taken as an illiterate, pretended to be able to read it. When reading it he nodded his head repeatedly.
"I know," the rich man said to the messenger, "I'll go myself in a moment."
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