Our village carpenter（木匠）, John Hill, came one day and made a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two windows. When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill（账单）for his job.
My wife said to me quietly, “That's his ninth cup of tea today.” But she said in a loud voice, “It's a beautiful table, dear, isn't it?” “I'll decide about that when I see the bill,” I said. John laughed and gave me his bill for the work. I read:
One dining table 10th November, 2011
Cost of wood ＄17.00
Paint ＄1.50
Work, 8 hours(＄1 an hour) ＄8.00
Total ＄36.50
When I was looking at the bill, John said, “It's been a fine day, hasn't it? Quite sunny.”
“Yes,” I said. “I'm glad it's only the 10th of November.”
“Me, too,” said John, “you wait—it will be a lot colder by the end of the month.”
“Yes, colder—and more expensive! Dining tables will be ＄20 more expensive on November 30th, won't they, John?”
John looked hard at me for half a minute. Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes? I gave his bill back to him.
“If it's not too much trouble, John,” I said, “please add it up again. You can forget the date…”
I paid him ＄26.50 and he was happy to get it.
