English Original
Mr. Brown lived in a small town but moved to a big city with his wife and two children for a new job. On the first Sunday in their new home, he took his new car out of the garage to wash it. A neighbor passed by, stopped to admire the car for a moment, and was noticed by Mr. Brown.
The neighbor said, "That's a nice car. Is it yours?"
"Sometimes," Brown answered.
The neighbor was surprised. "Sometimes?" he asked. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Brown replied slowly, "When there's a party in town, it belongs to my daughter, Jane. When there's a football game somewhere, it belongs to my son, Joe. When I've washed it and it looks nice and clean, it belongs to my wife. And when it needs gas, it's mine."
中文翻译
布朗先生曾住在一个小镇，但为了新工作，他和妻子及两个孩子搬到了大城市。在新家的第一个星期天，他把新车从车库里开出来清洗。一位邻居路过，停下来欣赏了一会儿这辆车，被布朗先生注意到了。
邻居说：“这车真不错。是你的吗？”
“有时候是，”布朗回答。
邻居很惊讶。“有时候？”他问道，“什么意思？”
“嗯，”布朗缓缓地答道，“镇上有聚会时，它属于我女儿简。哪里有足球赛时，它属于我儿子乔。当我把它洗得干净漂亮时，它属于我妻子。而当它需要加油时，它就是我的了。”