Mr.Brown lives in a small town, but then he gets a job in a big city and moves there with his wife and his two children. On the first Sunday in their new home, Brown takes his new car out of the garage and washes it. A neighbor comes by. When he sees Brown's new car, the neighbor stops and looks at it for a minute. Then Brown turns and sees him.

The neighbor says, "That's a nice car. Is it yours?" "Sometimes." Brown answers.

The neighbor is surprised. "Sometimes?" he says. "What do you mean?"

"Well," answers Brown slowly, "When there is a party in the town, it belongs to my daughter, Jane. When there is a football game somewhere, it belongs to my son, Joe. When I've washes it, and it is really nice and clean, then it belongs to my wife. And when it needs gas, it's mine."

布朗先生居住在一个小城镇里，但后来在城里找到了工作并和他的妻子，两个孩子搬到了城里。在他搬到新家的第一个星期天，布朗先生把他的小汽车从车库里开出来进行冲洗。一位邻居经过。当他看见布朗先生洗车是，这位邻居停下来看了一会儿。接着布朗先生转过身看见了他。

邻居说：“这辆车真漂亮，是你的吗？”“有时候是。”布朗先生回答。

这位邻居很吃惊。“有时？”他说：“什么意思？”

“哦，”布朗先生慢慢地说：”当城镇有聚会时，它属于我的女儿——简。当哪里有足球赛是，就属于我的儿子——乔。当我洗刷好湖，车看起来确实干净漂亮，它就属于我妻子。当需要汽油时，它这时就属于我了。“