Bad news
A bachelor who for companionship, had a beloved cat for over 10 years, plans a vacation to Paris and entrusts the cat with his brother. As soon as he arrives in Paris he calls his brother and asks how his cat is doing without him. "Oh, the cat? He's dead." said the brother bluntly. "I can't believe this!" yells the bachelor. "How could you tell me he's dead like that?" "How else was I supposed to tell you?" the brother asked. "Well you could have broke it to me gently." the brother went on. "When I called today you could have said he is up on the roof but the fire department is getting him down. Then tomorrow when I called you could have said that he fell while they were trying to rescue him and broke his back but, don't worry, the best vet in town was doing the surgery to repair it. And then when I called the third day you could have said they did all they could do but they couldn't save him." The brother thought about this and says, "That does sound better than the way I said it." "Never mind," says the bachelor exasperated, "How's mother?" The brother says "She's on the roof but the fire department is getting her down."