Mr Smith was in trouble those days. He drove a car for Mr Black, a rich businessman. He worked hard and the shopkeeper liked him. But he couldn't work when he drank too much. And once he almost fell into the river when he drove along the bridge. Mr Black become angry and was going to send him away. He had a big family and was afraid of it and promised(许诺) he would stop drinking at once. The man told him to wait to be dealt with(处置).
One Monday morning Mr Smith came into the office with two badly burnt(烧伤的) ears.
"What happened to your ears?" asked Mr Black.
"Well," said the man." I went to watch a football match yesterday while my wife was ironing(熨) clothes. She had put the iron(熨斗) near the telephone before she went to cook supper. Our team lost the game and I felt sorry for it. As soon as I went into the sitting-room, the phone rang and I answered the iron!"
"And what happened to the other ear ?"
"When I put the iron down on the table, the telephone rang again!"