Readers Digest Australia Sampler 2022

READER’S DIGEST Blow-Out My mother is seven years older than my father, and he never lets her forget it. It was her birthday recently and he put just one candle on her cake. She seemed puzzled, and he told her, “Well, I didn’t want to put a strain on your lungs.” SUBMITTED BY JOANNE AITCHISON Downing Tools A few years ago, my father-in-law set about a task in the kitchen that his wife required to be undertaken. He placed the necessary tools and equipment on the worktop in readiness for the work and then briefly left the kitchen. On his return, the worktop was clear of his careful preparations. He enquired as to their whereabouts, upon which my mother-in-law said she had tidied them away as he had left them lying around, cluttering up the kitchen! SUBMITTED BY ALLAN BRIDGER Fateful Name My son and I were walking in the cemetery when we came upon an ornate mausoleum. New to reading and interested in words, my son pointed to the name carved at the top and asked, “What does that say?” I told him the family name: “Eaton.” Now horrified, he responded, “By what?” SUBMITTED BY AUDREY MALDONADO LIFE’S LIKE THAT “Sorry, that spot is reserved.” CARTOON: CARTOON BY GUTO DIAS. ILLUSTRATIONS: GETTY IMAGES Seeing The Funny Side 12 May 2022