“My boy,” said an aged Father to his fiery and disobedient
Son, “a hot temper is the soil of remorse. Promise me that when next you are
angry you will count one hundred before you move or speak.”
No sooner had the
Son promised than he received a stinging blow from the paternal walking-stick,
and by the time he had counted to seventy-five had the unhappiness to see the
old man jump into a waiting cab and whirl away.
Ambrose Bierce - Fantastic Fables (1899)
The young fool could have counted in intervals of 10 - or, of course, 100.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a different unhappiness that the boy experienced, then he ought to start counting all over again. With some people the penny takes longer to drop.
ReplyDeletePresumably, the wise Dad understood this.
Sackers - ah but he couldn't bring himself to cheat on his old man. Until the next time.
ReplyDeleteSam - I'm not sure how wise Dad was because he could only pull the trick once.