This book reminds me about Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl. The interesting part is that ten of the twelve tales were true!
The Perfect Murder
My grandma used to say that adulterers have higher chances than an average person to be murdered. This story amply illustrated her theory. It is quite unexpected that a married man would expect his mistress to be faithful to him. But I suppose it does not take a lot for a man to kill a woman, especially in a moment of rage. Elizabeth and I both wondered aloud if it was a true story. We hope not. It would be unfair for a real murderer to escape scot free in this world. But surely he could not escape from the Higher Judge.
Clean Sweep Ignatius
My palm sweated when I read of the bank manager being threatened by a hand gun. Surely the confidentiality of banking would not be carried to such extreme! Yet without such bank secret accounts, we would not have such poor countries like Indonesia with lots of natural resources. It is difficult to find men with political power who are not corrupt. Where we find such men, we would find a nation that is beyond riches, like Singapore.
A La Carte
Would not teenagers think their parents old fashion or crazy to be ambitious for them? I wonder when was the turning point for the young man in the story? At the moment when he turned around to walk back to the hotel? Elizabeth's counseling teacher said that she practically had to nag her son to apply for the first scholarship. Finally she had to apply on his behalf and did everything for him. The earlier ones he did not win. The one that enabled him to back pack in Europe last summer was the one that his mum applied for against his wishes.
Elizabeth have obtained a place in my old college with 60% aid. However, she did not win the American Chamber of Commerce scholarship. Unless a miracle occurs, she will go to a local government university near where we live. Alternatively, we are still waiting to see if she is on the waiting list of a University in China. So far, no news could be good news.
Not the Real Thing
This is an unlikely story of how a vain man lost his costly and beautiful medal. It is futile for a commoner to try his best to appear lordly in front of a Monarch. Does a medal awarded to a person belongs to him or the monarch?
Just Good Friends
I was fooled until the last moment when the author finally mentioned about the female's tail. It was natural to assume that this pub customer picked up a homeless female who part timed for the pub owner.
The Steal
I have met a few couples like the Kendall-Humes, rich, loud, confident, generous to a fault ... Personally I prefer them to strait laced old money folks. Unwittingly, they have paid four times the real price for their inferior carpet. And the Rogers had gotten their "steal". They paid five hundred for something worth five thousand. I suppose every party wins. The carpet dealer made excellent profit even though he practically gave one away to the Rogers. The Kendall-Humes thought they made a fantastic bargain. And the Rogers knew they had a bargain.
Colonel Bullfrog
It was amazing to have the Japanese rose from the ashes and the humiliation of the Second World War to become an industrial power. By a series of co-incidences, it would not be too far fetched to imagine this being a true story.
Checkmate
Perhaps the pickings were lean in other places. It was unusual that a lady in the trade would choose to pick her fool in a chess competition. She must have learned her skills in chess since childhood. She must be quite good to able to pretend to lose convincingly so many times with a chess president.
Honour among Thieves
I find it difficult to believe a person can tell a vintage by vineyard and year. They exist, I am sure. Barker did not lose any money over losing the bet. He had two good meals and some excellent wines in the bargain. The only thing that would pierce his side constantly would be that fool Hamilton laughing at him over his "inability to name the wines" from Hamilton's cellar. But I suppose Barker has the last laugh.
A Chapter of Accidents
If this is a true story, I find it ironic that Travers suffered a nasty accident for only making a pass at a lady. Of course he had it coming to him, for bedding many women in town behind their husbands' backs. Take heed: "Any intended victim who has a regular routine immediately makes himself more vulnerable." (Conan Doyle)
The Loophole
I have never heard that a successful litigant need not pay tax at all on damages received in a civil case. Is that true in UK or USA? Philip who paid tax at the highest rate could expense off the loss because the person who sued him for libel once worked for him. I have not been able to figure out why he would not be able to do it otherwise.
Christina Rosenthal
The modern Romeo and Juliet! For parents who held to their beliefs that their children should not marry certain races, this is a warning! Not unless they would prefer untimely deaths rather than gain a son or daughter-in-law whom they do not accept.
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