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Let Us Try for Your Umbrella Agai
A man once said how useless it was
to put advertisements in the newspapers. 'Last week,' said he, 'my
umbrella was stolen from a London church. As it was a present, I
spent twice its worth in advertising, but didn't get it back.'
'How did you write your advertisement?'
asked one of the listeners, a merchant.
'Here it is,' said the man, taking out
of his pocket a slip cut from a newspaper. The other man took it
and read, 'Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening, a black
silk umbrella. The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings
on leaving it at No. 10 Broad Street.'
'Now,' said the merchant, 'I often advertise,
and find that it pays me well. But the way in which an advertisement
is expressed is of extreme importance. Let us try for your umbrella
again, and if it fails, I'll buy you a new one.'
The merchant then took a slip of paper
out of his pocket and wrote: 'If the man who was seen to take an
umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesn't wish to
get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No. 10 Broad Street.
He is well known.'
This appeared in the paper, and on the
following morning, the man was astonished when he opened the front
door. In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes
and colors that had been thrown in, and his own was among the number.
Many of them had notes fastened to them saying that they had been
taken by mistake, and begging the loser not to say anything about
the matter.
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《我们再为你的伞试试》
一个人曾说在报纸上做广告很没用。他说"上周我的雨伞从伦敦教堂被偷。因为它是件礼物，所以我出双倍的钱做广告，但它仍没回来。"
"你是怎么写广告词的？"听众中一商人问。
"你看"，他从口袋里掏出了一张从报上剪下的纸头。商人接过来读到："一把黑色丝质雨伞，上周六晚在城市教堂丢失。如有绅士找到并把它放在宽街10号，有赏10先令。"
"是这样的"商人说，"我常做广告，发现它对我很有利。但广告词至关重要。让我们再为你的雨伞试一下，如果这次仍不行，我给你买把新的。"
商人从口袋掏出片纸，并在上面写到："有人看见那人上周六从城市教堂拿走了一把雨伞，如果他不想惹麻烦的话，把伞还至宽街10号。那人还是小有名气的。"
这篇广告上了报，第二天，当这位失伞者打开家门时，他大吃一惊。门道里至少放着一打伞，五颜六色，大小不一，是昨晚扔进来的，他的雨伞也在其中。有几把伞上还系着条子说他们不经意拿错了伞，请失主千万别再提此事。
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