Off the Hook It has been many years since th

Off the Hook

It has been many years since the embarrassing day when the young woman, with a baby in her arms, entered a butcher shop. She confronted the butcher with the news that the baby was his and asked what he was going to do about it. After a long discussion, he offered to provide her with free meat until the boy was sixteen. She agreed. He has been counting the years off on his calendar.


One day, the boy who had been collecting free meat each week, came into the shop and said, “I’ll be sixteen tomorrow.” “I know,” said the butcher with a smile. “I have been counting too. When you take this parcel of meat home, tell your mother that it is the last free meat she’s getting and watch the expression on her face.”


When the boy arrived home, he told his mother what the butcher had said. She just smiled and replied, “Son, go back to the butcher and tell him that I have also had free bread, free milk and free groceries for the last sixteen years, and watch the expression on HIS face.”