A newlywed farmer and his wife were visited by her mother, who immediately demanded an inspection of the place. While they were walking through the barn, the farmer's mule suddenly reared up and kicked the mother-in-law in the head, killing her instantly.
At the funeral service a few days later, the farmer stood near the casket and greeted folks as they walked by. The pastor noticed that whenever a woman would whisper something to the farmer, he would nod his head "Yes" and say something. Whenever a man walked by and whispered to the farmer, he would shake his head, "No" and mumble a reply. Curious, the pastor later asked the farmer what that was all about.
The farmer replied, ''The women would say, 'What a terrible tragedy' and I would nod my head and say, 'Yes, it was.' The men would ask, 'You wanna sell that mule?' and I would shake my head and say, 'Can't. It's all booked up for a year.'"
译文:
受欢迎的骡子
有一个刚结婚的农夫，一天他的岳母去拜访他们，她刚到就去查看他们的地方。当他们走进牲口棚的时候，突然他的骡子站了起来踢死了他的岳母。
在葬礼举行了几天后，农夫站在棺材旁,每当有人路过他就会致谢。但牧师注意到当女人贴到他耳边和他说话的时候他总是点头说“是”但要是男人，他就会摇摇头说“不”嘟囔几句。出于好奇，牧师就问他这是怎么回事。
他回答说，“女人们总是说'真是场悲剧'然后我就点头说，‘是’而男人会问我说，‘你想卖你的骡子吗’我就摇摇头说‘不，已经预定到明年了。’”