A penny-pinching farmer didn't want his hired hand to stop working. One morning, he told the farmhand, "It's such a nuisance¹ to come in from the field, wash up for lunch and take time to eat. Why don't we save time and eat lunch now?"

The hired man agreed. The farm's wife brought in some cold meat and fried² potatoes, and the two men ate again.

When they had finished, the cheap farmer said, "While we're still at the table, let's have supper too." They were now served steak, boiled potatoes and mixed vegetables, and they ate once more.

"Now that the meals are out of the way, " the farmer announced, "we can go out and work all day without interruption³. "

"Oh, no," the farmhand answered. "I never work after supper."

一位农场主非常吝啬，不想让他雇佣的帮手停下来休息。一天早上，他对帮手说：“从地里回来，又要洗手吃饭，又花时间，真是太不方便了。我们何不省点时间，现在就吃午饭呢？”

雇员同意了。农场主的妻子端进来一些冷肉和油炸土豆。于是，两个人又开始吃起来。

吃完后，吝啬鬼说：“既然我们还在桌子边，让我们连晚饭也吃了吧。”这次上桌的有排骨、煮土豆和杂烩青菜。于是两个人又吃起来。

“现在三顿饭都吃过了，”农场主宣称道，“我们便可以出去一整天不停地干活了。”

“哦，不，”那帮手回答说，“晚饭后我从不工作。”