There was a little boy named Johnny who used to hang   out at the local corner   market. The owner didn't know what Johnny's problem was, but the boys would constantly tease him.

　　They would always comment that he was two bricks shy of a load, or two pickles short of a barrel. To prove it, sometimes they would offer Johnny his choice between a nickel (5 cents) and a dime (10 cents) and John would always take the nickel -- they said, because it was bigger.

　　One day after John grabbed the nickel, the store owner took him aside and said, "Johnny, those boys are making   fun   of you. They think you don't know the dime is worth more than the nickel. Are you grabbing the nickel because it's bigger or what?"

　　Slowly, Johnny turned toward the store owner and a big grin appeared on his face and Johnny said, "Well, if I took the dime, they'd stop doing it, and so far I've saved $20!"

Key  words：

hang  out　閒晃、鬼混

corner   market　街角市場

tease　（v.）嘲笑　click 發音  

two bricks shy of a load　一次裝載量只差了兩塊磚　

two pickles short of a barrel　一桶酸黃瓜只少了兩條

意思是：他有點笨笨的，腦袋瓜少了一條筋

aside　（adv.）在一旁

making fun of　取笑

grin　（n.）露齒微笑

so  far　至目前為止