原版英文小故事 28. Sign Right Here（在线收听）

Chad had worked hard all his young life, and then his father died. Unknown to Chad and almost everyone else, his father was a very rich man. The will disclosed the astounding amount of money his father had accumulated during his lifetime. Chad, the sole survivor, was now rich beyond his wildest dreams. It was as if he had won the state lottery.

So, there was only one thing to do. Ever since he was a little boy living in a 19-foot trailer, Chad had dreamed of living in a big house with a big yard and a big dog. Well now, the dream would come true.

Chad called up several realtors and invited them to his apartment so that he could tell them about his dream. The first three realtors pretended to believe that Chad could afford the type of house he described to them. They all said they would get back to him. They didn’t. Two weeks later, Chad talked to a pretty female realtor, who said she would find him one of the best and biggest houses in the world.

A month later, she called to tell him that she was going to pick him up and drive him to his dream house. It was even better than Chad had imagined. It was a three-story, 20,000 square feet behemoth.

It had a two-lane “driveway” that was almost half a mile long. It had porches, balconies, fireplaces, gardens, and all kinds of trees. It had a heated swimming pool, a lighted tennis court, a gymnasium, a bowling alley, a theater, a music room, and a ballroom.

It had four master suites, each containing a huge bedroom, two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, and dining room. Each suite had its own temperature controls. There were two staircases and three elevators in the house, each elevator big enough to hold a grand piano. The main kitchen had five refrigerator/freezers lined up side by side. The formal dining room seated 60. Next to it were a menu-planning room and a silverware room.

The living room easily had space for eight or nine sofas and as many coffee tables. The library, next to the reading room, had enough shelving for almost 10,000 books. The property also had two guest houses. It had everything except a big dog.

Chad took it. A month later he bought four big dogs, and a year later he married his realtor.