Beware of dog
As a stranger entered a little country store, he noticed a sign warning, “Danger! Beware of dog!” posted on the glass door. Inside, he noticed a harmless old hound dog asleep on the floor beside the cash register. “Is that the dog folks are supposed to beware of?” he asked the owner. “Yep, that‘s him,” came the reply. The stranger couldn‘t help but be amused. “That certainly doesn‘t look like a dangerous dog to me. Why in the world would you post that sign?” “Because,” the owner explained, “Before I posted that sign, people kept tripping over him!”
翻译：
小心有狗
一名陌生人走进一家乡间小商店，看到玻璃门上帖着的一个告示牌上写着，“危险! 小心有狗!” 进去后，他看到一条样子一点都不凶的老狗趴在收款机旁边的地板上睡觉。 “这就是大伙都得留神的那只狗啊？” 陌生人问店主。“是，就是他”，店主回答。 听到这个回答， 陌生人觉得很好笑。“我觉得那条狗一点都不可怕。 你帖那个告示做什么？” “因为，” 店主解释说，“在我帖告示之前， 大伙老被他绊倒。”
Stupid Orders
When Nasreddin was a boy, he never did what he was told, so his father always told him to do the opposite of what he wanted him to do. One day, when the two were bringing sacks of flour home on their donkeys, they had to cross a shallow river. When they were in the middle of it, one of the sacks on Nasreddin‘s donkey began to slip, so his father said, “That sack is nearly in the water! Press down hard on it!” His father of course expected that he would do the opposite, but this time Nasreddin did what his father had told him to do. He pressed down on the sack and it went under water. Of course, the flour was lost. “What have you done, Nasreddin,” his father shouted angrily. “Well, father,” said Nasreddin. “This time I thought that I would do just what you told me to show you how stupid your orders always are.”
翻译：
愚蠢的命令
当纳斯雷金还是个孩子时，从来不按照别人所说的去做。所以他爸爸想要他去做某事时，常叫他做相反的事。 一天，父子俩用毛驴驮着几袋面粉往家走，路上必须经过一条不深的小河。父子俩走到河中心时，纳斯雷金牵的那头毛驴上有一袋面粉开始往下滑了。他爸爸说：“那个袋子快掉进水里了，使劲往下按！”他爸爸当然是希望他象以往一样，干和他所说的相反的事。可这次纳斯雷金却按照他爸爸所说的去做了。他使劲一按，袋子沉进水里了。当然，这袋面也没有了。 他爸爸愤怒地喊道：“你干的什么事！” 纳斯雷金说：“嗯，爸爸，这次我想按你所要求的去做，好证明你以往的命令是多么的愚蠢。”
I took off from work
My personnel-management class consisted mainly of adult, working students. One night while discussing job enrichment, the teacher asked if any of us would be happy doing what we did that day for the rest of our lives. A student in the back raised his hand. Surprised, the teacher asked him, “What did you do today?” Smiling, he said, “I took off from work.”
翻译：
我请假了
我曾参加过一个员工管理培训课程，我们班上基本上都是成年人和一些半工半读的学生。一天晚上我们在课上讨论工作丰富化的问题。我们的老师问我们当中有没有人愿意一辈子做今天所做的事情。坐在教室最后面的一个学生举起了手。老师觉得很惊奇，于是问那个学生，“你今天做什么来着？”，学生笑着回答，“我今天请假了”。
nobody available
I was going to bed the other night when my wife told me that I had left the light on in the shed. She could see from the bedroom window. As I looked for myself, I saw that there were people in the shed taking things. I phoned the police, but they told me that no one was in this area to help at this time, but they would send someone over as soon as they were available. I said ok, hung up, and waited one minute, then phoned the police back. “Hello. I just called you a minute ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don‘t have to worry about them now cause I‘ve shot them all.” Within five minutes there were half a dozen police cars in the area, an armed response unit, the works. Of course, they caught the burglars red-handed. One of the officers said: “I thought you said that you‘d shot them!” I replied with “I thought you said there was nobody available!”
谁都没空
那天晚上，我刚要上床睡觉，妻子告诉我说我没有关储藏室的灯，她从卧室的窗户看见那还亮着。我也透过窗户朝那边看，发现有几个人正在偷东西。我赶忙报警，但是警察局说现在没有警察在我家的这片位置，他们一有了人手就马上派过来。我说没问题，然后挂了电话，等了一分钟，又给他们打过去：“警察局吗，一分钟以前我打过电话来，我告诉你说有人正在我家的储藏室偷东西。但是现在没事了，因为我刚刚开枪把他们都打死了。”随后，五分钟之内有六辆警车来到了我家，警报也响了。当然，他们当场抓住了窃贼。有个警察对我说：“我记得你说你把他们都打死了。”我回答道：“我记得你说现在谁都没空。”
