English Original
Two brothers, Herbert and James, lived with their mother and a cat named Edgar. James was particularly attached to the cat. When he had to leave town for several days, he left Herbert meticulous instructions about the pet's care.
At the end of his first day away, James telephoned his brother. "How is Edgar?"
"Edgar is dead," Herbert answered.
There was a pause. Then James said, "Herbert, you're insensitive. You know how close I was to Edgar; you should have broken the news to me slowly. When I asked about Edgar tonight, you should have said, 'Edgar's on the roof, but I have called the fire department to get him down.' Tomorrow when I call, you could have said the firemen were having trouble but you were hopeful they would succeed. When I call the third time, you could have told me the firemen did their best, but unfortunately Edgar fell off the roof and was at the veterinarian's. Then on my last call, you could have said that although everything possible had been done, Edgar had died. That's the way a sensitive man would have told me. And, oh, before I forget," James added, "how is Mother?"
"Oh," Herbert said, pausing for a moment, "She's on the roof."
中文翻译
赫伯特和詹姆斯两兄弟与母亲以及一只名叫埃德加的猫住在一起。詹姆斯对这只猫感情特别深厚。一次，他必须离城数日，临走前给赫伯特留下了一丝不苟的宠物照看指示。
离开的第一天晚上，詹姆斯给弟弟打来电话。"埃德加怎么样？"
"埃德加死了，"赫伯特回答。
一阵沉默。然后詹姆斯说："赫伯特，你太不体谅人了。你知道我和埃德加有多亲近；你应该慢慢地把这个消息告诉我。今晚我问起埃德加时，你应该说，'埃德加在屋顶上，但我已经打电话叫消防队来救它了。'明天我打电话时，你可以说消防员遇到了困难，但你相信他们会成功。我第三次打电话时，你可以告诉我消防员已经尽力了，但不幸的是埃德加从屋顶掉了下来，被送到了兽医那里。然后在我最后一次打电话时，你可以说尽管已经尽了一切努力，埃德加还是死了。这才是一个体贴的人告诉我这件事的方式。哦，趁我还没忘，"詹姆斯补充道，"母亲好吗？"
"哦，"赫伯特停顿了一下说，"她在屋顶上。"