English Original
A boy walking down the road noticed an old man with an unusually small head. Curious, he approached and asked, "Mister, why is your head so small?"
The old man looked at him and replied, "Son, if I weren't so old, I'd give you a beating... but since you remind me of myself at your age, I'll tell you."
The boy listened intently as the man began his story. "One day, I was fishing off the pier when I got a huge bite. 'My goodness!' I thought. 'I've caught a whale!'"
"Really?" the boy asked eagerly.
"But when I reeled it in," the man continued, "to my surprise, it was a beautiful mermaid! She looked at me, terrified, and said she'd grant me one wish if I let her go..."
"And?" the boy interjected.
"Well, after a moment's thought," the old man said, "I looked at her and asked, 'How about a little head?'"
中文翻译
一个男孩走在路上，注意到一位老人的脑袋异常小。他好奇地走上前问道：“先生，你的脑袋怎么这么小？”
老人看着他回答说：“孩子，要不是我年纪这么大了，我非得揍你一顿不可……不过你让我想起了自己年轻时的样子，我就告诉你吧。”
男孩专注地听着老人开始讲述他的故事。“有一天，我在码头钓鱼，突然鱼竿猛地一沉。‘天哪！’我想，‘我钓到鲸鱼了！’”
“真的吗？”男孩急切地问。
“但当我收线时，”老人继续说道，“令我惊讶的是，那竟是一条美丽的美人鱼！她惊恐地看着我，说如果我放了她，她就满足我一个愿望……”
“然后呢？”男孩插嘴道。
“嗯，我稍加思索，”老人说，“看着她问道：‘来点“小头”怎么样？’”（注：此处为双关语笑话，"a little head"字面意为“一个小脑袋”，俚语中另有含义。）