George and Charlie

George and Charlie lived in the same town before they joined the army. They were sent to an island and stayed there for more than ten months. They got up early in the morning and went to bed on time in the evening. They had to be on sentry duty whether it was a cold night or it was a hot afternoon. They could see nothing except the sea. Of course there weren't any drinks there though they liked to drink very much. The two young men were tired of the life on the island and hoped to have a holiday in a city.

One night it was very cold. George and Charlie saw a man swimming towards the bank where their military camp was while they were on sentry duty. They didn't say anything and followed him gently and caught him when he was taking an important map away. The two young soldiers were allowed to have a week's holiday in the capital. They were both very happy and went there. As soon as they left the airport, they found a restaurant in the center of the city and decided to drink something first. They stayed there for about four hours before it was closed. They drank too much to stand and had to sit near a garden for half an hour. Then they stood up and began to look for a hotel. It was one o'clock at night and they could see few cars. They walked in the middle of the street.

"I've never seen such a long ladder in my life," said George, "I'm sure the heavy wind blew it down!"

"Nonsense!" said Charlie, "It's not a ladder, but a fence!"