Malcolm and Maureen were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Malcolm suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.
Maureen promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled Malcolm out. When the medical director became aware of Maureen’s heroic act, he immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital as he now considered her to be mentally stable.
When he went to tell Maureen the news he said:
Maureen, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you’re being discharged, since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of another patient. I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness.
The bad news is, Maureen, the patient you saved, hung himself right after you saved him, with his bathrobe belt in the bathroom. I am so sorry, but he’s dead.
Maureen replied:
He didn’t hang himself; I put him there to dry.
Vocabulary Help
- aware – consciente
- belt – cinto
- both – ambos
- bottom – fundo
- dead – morto
- deep end – parte profunda
- discharge – liberar
- hang (hang, hung, hung) – enforcar
- jump – pular, saltar
- pull out – retirar
- sink (sink, sank, sunk) – afundar
- sound mindedness – sanidade
- stable – estável
- swim (swim, swam, swam) – nadar
- swimming pool – piscina
- to dry – para secar