Unit 9 The Widow’s Dog
There was once a very rich old lady whose husband had died and whose children had married and gone to live in foreign countries. When she reached the age of eighty, she went to live in an expensive and very comfortable hotel near the sea, where it was not too cold in winter.
This rich old widow had a pair of nasty, ugly dogs, which used to growl and bark at everybody, but which she loved very much, although nobody else did. After the old lady and her dogs had been at the hotel nearly a year, a new young waiter came to work there. He did everything to help the old lady. He carried her blankets and pillows for her to get into and out of the car which she hired, and even pretended to like her unpleasant dogs. He fed them, cleaned them and took them for daily walks for some years.
The young waiter did not doubt that, when the rich old widow died, she would leave him a lot of money, to pay him for everything that he had done for her and her dogs; but when she did die a few years later, he soon discovered that she had left him only two things-her dogs. All her money and jewellery went to her children, who had never done anything for her.
Words and phrases
growl 唸る
Honesty is best policy.
If the waiter hadn’t had pretended to like her unpleasant dogs, he would might have got a little of money or jewellery. The very rich old lady thought that he loved her two nasty dogs、so she left him the happiest present for him.
上の話とはちょっと違うかもしれませんが、親の世話はしないが、財産の権利だけ主張するのは、よく聞く話です。
下心があると失敗しますね。元々、びた一文あげるつもりもなかったでしょう。
ちょっと残酷、でもあり得るお話です。
人間はふりをするのは徳としても得はないです。
好き、嫌いもある程度ははっきりと。
でも苦手と思っていた方にお世話になることも。
この世は不思議な事で包まれていますね。
長文の英語の話をアップを有難うございます。
途中で、遺産は若い添い人に残されるのかと思いましたが・・・
ならなかったですね。
お金持ちは、狙われています。また残しても、もめごとのもとです。
犬二匹だけとはねぇ～ 餌代も残してもらわないといけませんね。