Our village carpenter , John Hill, came one day and made a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two windows. When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill for the job.    My wife said to me quietly, "It's his ninth cup of tea today." But she said in a loud voice, "It is a beautiful table, dear, isn't it?"   "I will decide about that when I see the bill, " I read:   One dining table, 10 November, 1989.   Cost of wood: $17.00   Paint: $1.50   Work: 8 hours ($1 an hour) $8.00   Total: $36.50 When I was looking at the bill, John said, "It's been a fine day, hasn't it? Quite sunny." "Yes," I said, "I'm glad it is only the 10thof November."   "Me, too," said John. "You wait. It'll be a lot colder by the end of the month."   "Yes, colder.... And more expensive! Dining tables will be $20 more expensive on November 30th, won't they, John?" John looked hard at me for half a minute. Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes? I gave his bill back to him.   "If it isn't too much trouble, John," I said, "Please add it up again and you can forget the date."   I paid him $26.50and he was happy to get it. Why did John talk about the weather when the writer was looking at the bill?  _
Because he didn't want the writer to go through the bill carefully. Because it was really a fine day. .Because he wanted the writer to check the bill carefully. Because he wanted to tell the writer what the weather was like.