“I want you to help me stop my son gambling.” an anxious father said to his boy-s principal①. “I don’t know where he gets it from， but it’s bet②， bet， bet.”
“Leave it to me！” said the principal.
A week later he phoned the boy’s father. “I think I’ve cured③him.” he said.
“How？”
“Well， I saw him looking at my beard④and he said， ‘I bet that’s a false beard.’ ‘How much？’ I said， and he said ‘￥ 5.’”
“What happened？” asked the father.
“Well he tugged⑤my beard which is quite natural and I made him give me ￥5. I’m sure that’ll teach him a lesson！ ”
“No， it won’t，” said the father. “He bet me ￥10 on Monday that he’d pull your beard with your permission by the end of the week！”
① principaln. 校长，社长，首长
② betn. 打赌
③ curev. 消除（弊病等），纠正
④ beardn. 胡须，山羊胡
⑤ tugv. 用力拉（或拖）
赌
“我想你帮我制止我儿子赌博。”一位焦急的父亲对儿子的校长说。“我不知道他从哪儿学来的，总是赌，赌，赌。”
“交给我吧！”校长说。
一周后，他打电话给男孩的父亲。“我想我已使他改邪归正。”他说。
“怎么办到的？”
“噢，他看着我的胡子，然后说，‘我打赌那是假胡子。’‘赌多少钱？’我问，他说‘5美元。’”
“后来怎样？”父亲问道。
“于是他拉扯了我的胡子后，知道那是货真价实的，我就要他给我5美元。我敢肯定我给了他一个教训。”
“不行，那没用。”父亲说。“星期一他和我赌了10美元，说周末他可以让你允许他拔你的胡子！”