Chapter 6

 The painter pondered the mournful puzzle of life demanding to be born and, once born, demanding to be fruitful ... to multiply and to live as long as possible—to do all that on a very small planet that would have to last forever.

 

All the answers that the painter could think of were grim. Even grimmer, surely, than a Catbox, a Happy Hooligan, an Easy Go. He thought of war. He thought of plague. He thought of starvation.

 

He knew that he would never paint again. He let his paintbrush fall to the drop-cloths below. And then he decided¹ he had had about enough of life in the Happy Garden of Life, too, and he came slowly down from the ladder.

 

He took Wehling's pistol, really intending to shoot himself.

 

But he didn't have the nerve.

 

And then he saw the telephone booth in the corner of the room. He went to it, dialed the well-remembered number: "2 B R 0 2 B."

 

"Federal Bureau of Termination," said the very warm voice of a hostess.

 

"How soon could I get an appointment?" he asked, speaking very carefully.

 

"We could probably fit you in late this afternoon, sir," she said. "It might even be earlier, if we get a cancellation²."

 

"All right," said the painter, "fit me in, if you please." And he gave her his name, spelling it out.

 

"Thank you, sir," said the hostess. "Your city thanks you; your country thanks you; your planet thanks you. But the deepest thanks of all is from future generations."

The End
 

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。