1、2. Thirteen equals oneOur vicar is always raising money for one cause or another, but he has never managed to get enough money to have the church clock repaired.The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since. /One night, however,
2、our vicar woke up with a start: the clock was striking the hours!Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one oclock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped.Armed with a torch, the vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on.In the torchlight, he caught sight of a figur
3、e whom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins, the local grocer. /Whatever are you doing up here Bill? asked the vicar in surprise. /Im trying to repair the bell, answered Bill. Ive been coming up here night after night for weeks now. You see, I was hoping to give you a surprise. /You certainly d
4、id give me a surprise! said the vicar. Youve probably woken up everyone in the village as well. Still, Im glad the bell is working again. /Thats the trouble, vicar, answered Bill. Its working all right, but Im afraid that at one oclock it will strike thirteen times and theres nothing I can do about it. /Well get used to that, Bill, said the vicar. Thirteen is not as good as one, but its better than nothing. Now lets go downstairs and have a cup of tea.
