英語笑話:Hogarth（霍迦斯）

The great painter was asked，one day to paint a picture of“Pharaoh crossing the Red Sea”．A little while after the picture had been commenced，a hitch arose over the fee，and Hogarth found that he would have to complete the commission for about half the sum he expected． When the work was com pleted， the patron was asked to come and inspect it．As a matter of fact，the picture was just one daub of brilliant red． “What's this？” exclaimed the purchaser．I asked for theRed Sea， on the occasion of the celebrated passage．” “That's it，”replied Hogarth． “But，where are the Israelites？” “They are all gone over．” “Where are the Egyptians？” “They're all drowned．”一天，有人請這位偉大的畫家畫一幅“法老王渡紅海”圖。這幅畫剛開始不久，酬金就出現了問題。霍迪斯發現，完成這幅畫後，他只能得到他想要的大約一半的錢。當作品完成之後，那位主顧被請來看畫。其實，這幅畫不過是胡亂塗抹的一片鮮紅。 “這是什麼？”那位買主喊了起來。“我要的是紅海，是那次著名的航海。” “這就是，”霍迦斯回答說。 “可是以色列人在哪兒？” “他們都已經渡過去了。” “埃及人在哪兒？” “他們全都淹死了。”