A time worn man shuffled by, “Doleo pro peccatis meis.”
My faulting Latin suggested he was sorry for his sins. He stopped, still mumbling to himself. I approached.
He looked up sadly, “Mea culpa. Doleo pro peccatis meis.”
“What sins are your fault?”
In English, he explained he’d invented a joke and had been cursed to an eternity of hearing it repeated.
“What joke could be so bad?”
He would only say it in Latin, “Quare pullus transire via?”
I translated, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”
A shriek of pain echoed across the park as he ran away.
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Ross's Writing Blog 
lissa
September 23, 2013 at 10:45
I never could answer that question or find it funny. suppose it sounds better in latin?
hope you have a great day.
Ross Mannell
September 23, 2013 at 20:02
Thanks for the comment.
I have never thought that sort of joke particularly funner either. I thought the original creator of the joke might have suffered for his work. 🙂
Anonymous
September 23, 2013 at 19:40
I chuckled just a little. Latin though…Latin? Ahhhhhh….runs away!
http://writing-out-of-the-blue.blogspot.com/2013/09/untitled-poem-about-remorse.html
Ross Mannell
September 23, 2013 at 20:00
Thanks for the comment.
Latin classes when a teen brings back memories but, I must admit, they were mostly not good. I was not a linguist. 🙂