One afternoon, a woman was relaxing at home when the doorbell rang.

She opened the door and found a nervous-looking man standing on her porch, twisting his hat in his hands.

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” he said awkwardly. “I’m terribly sorry to bother you.”

The woman looked at him with concern. “Is something wrong?”

The man took a deep breath and said, “I’m afraid I have some bad news. I was driving down the street a few minutes ago, and your cat suddenly ran in front of my car.”

The woman’s eyes widened.

The man continued, “I tried to stop, but I couldn’t avoid it. I’m very sorry. I ran over your cat.”

There was a brief silence.

Then the man added quickly, “Of course, I feel awful about it, and I’d like to make it right. I’d be happy to replace your cat for you.”

The woman studied him for a moment.

Then she nodded slowly and said:

“Well that’s alright with me, but how are you at catching mice?”