An old gentleman told a story when he and his friends
were eating fish in a restaurant. "When I was a young man I
worked for a company in New York, and I fell in love with a pretty young girl.
About two months before we got married, I was suddenly sent to Birmingham on
very important business." "I had to stay in Birmingham longer
than I had expected. But just before I left for home, I bought a beautiful and
very expensive diamond ring. I wanted to give it to my sweetheart."
"On my way to New York, I was looking through the morning newspaper.
Suddenly I saw an announcement (通知) of my sweetheart’s marriage (婚姻) with
another. This made me so angry that I threw the ring into the sea. A few days
later, when I was eating fish I found something hard in the fish. What do you
think it was" "The diamond ring." cried one of his friends.
"No," said the old gentleman sadly, "It was a fish-bone." His girl-friend married him at last.