It was many years ago since the embarrassing day when a young
woman,
with a
baby in her arms, entered his butcher shop and confronted him with
the
news
that the baby was his and asked what was he going to do about
it?
Finally he
offered to provide her with free meat until the boy was 16. She
agreed.
He had been counting the years off on his calendar, and one day
the
teenager, who had been collecting the meat each week, came into
the
shop and
said, "I'll be 16 tomorrow."
"I know," said the butcher with a smile, "I've been counting too,
tell
your
mother, when you take this parcel of meat home, that it is the
last
free
meat she'll get, and watch the expression on her face."
When the boy arrived home he told his mother. The woman nodded
and
said,
"Son, go back to the butcher and tell him I have also had free
bread,
free
milk, and free groceries for the last 16 years and watch the
expression
on
his face!"