Ways to Report Death
Two brothers,Herbert and James,lived with their mother and a cat named Edgar.James was particularly attached to the cat,and when he had to leave town for several days,he left Herbert meticulous instructions about the pet' s care.At the end of this 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.' And tomorrow when I called,you could have said the firemen were having trouble getting Edgar down,but you were hopeful they would succeed.Then when I called the third time,you could have told me that the fire-men have done their best,but unfortunately Edgar had fallen off the roof and was at the veterinarian's.Then when I called the last time,you could have said that although everything possible had been done for Edgar,he had died.That's the way a sensitive man would have told me about Edgar.And,oh,before I forget," James added,"how is mother?"
"Oh," Herbert said,pausing for a moment,"She' s on the roof."
报丧方式
郝伯特和詹姆斯兄弟二人一起生活,家中有一老母并养了一只猫叫埃德格.詹姆斯特别喜欢这只猫.有一次他要外出几天,临行前不厌其烦地嘱咐郝伯特照顾好这只宠物.出门后的头一天晚上,他打来电话询问：“埃德格好吗?”
“它死了,”郝伯格回答.一阵沉默之后,詹姆斯说：“郝伯特,你真没心没肺,你知道我多么喜欢埃德格----你应该把这个消息慢慢地告诉我.当我问起埃德格今晚怎样时,你应该说,‘埃德格爬上了屋顶,我已给消防队打了电话,让他们把它救下来.’我明天又给你打电话时,你应该说消防队营救埃德格遇到了困难,但你相信他们会成功.在我第三天给你打电话时,你可以说消防队员已尽了最大努力,但很不幸,埃德格从屋顶上掉了下来,被送到兽医那里.在我最后一次给你打电话询问,你可以说尽管对埃德格做了一切所能做的努力,它还是死了.这是一个富有感情的人告诉我埃德格的消息时所用的方式.哦,趁我没忘记还有件事顺便问一下,”詹姆斯补充道,“母亲好吗?”
“哦……”一阵沉默后郝伯特答道,“她上了屋顶.”