A couple was celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. Their domestic tranquility¹ had long been the talk of the town. A local newspaper reporter was inquiring as to the secret of their long and happy marriage.

一对夫妇正在庆祝他们的金婚纪念日，他们多年平静的生活，成为小镇上流传的佳话，一个小报记者要求采访他们这段长久而幸福的婚姻的秘密。

"Well，it dates back to our honeymoon,”explained the man. "We visited the Grand Canyon² and took a trip down to the bottom on the canyon by pack mule³. We hadn’t gone too far when my wife's mule stumbled. My wife quietly said, ‘That's once' .We proceeded a little further and the mule stumbled again. Once more my wife quietly said, `That's twice.’We hadn't gone a half一mile when the mule stumbled the third time. My wife quietly removed a revolver from her pocket and shot the mule dead. I started to protest over her treatment of the mule when she looked at me and quietly said, `That's once'.”

“这要从我们的蜜月说起，”男的说，“我们去旅行了大峡谷，而且用骡子驮着行李走到了谷底，我们没有走多远，我妻子的骡子就跌倒了，妻子平静地说:‘这是一次’。我们继续走远了一些，骡子又跌倒了，我妻子又平静地说:‘这是第二次’。我们又走了不到半里，骡子第三次跌倒，我妻子从背包里拿出了手枪，射死了那头骡子。始想去阻止她这样对待那头骡子，可她看着我平静地说‘这是第一次”，。