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"It Could Have Been Worse..."

There once was a sheriff who, no matter what the situation, always said,
"It could have been worse" after viewing the scene of the crime. It drove
his two deputies absolutely crazy.

One day, the two deputies in the Sheriff's Office answered an emergency
call at a farmhouse. When they walked in, they found the naked bodies of
a man and a woman in the bedroom. They both had been shot to death.
When the deputies went to the living room, they found the body of a man
with a gun at his side.

"No doubt about it," one deputy said to the other. "This was a double murder
and suicide. This guy came home and found his wife in bed with somebody
else and shot them both. Then he shot himself."

"You're right," the other deputy replied. "Double murder and suicide. But
I'll bet you when the sheriff gets here, he's going to say It could have
been worse as he always does!"

"No way. How could it be worse? There are three people in the house,
and all of them have been shot to death. It couldn't be worse. You're on."
said the first deputy.

About that time, the old sheriff arrived at the scene. He walked into the
bedroom and saw the two naked bodies. He then walked into the living
room and saw the man on the floor with the gun by his side. "No doubt
about it," the sheriff said, shaking his head. "It was a double murder and
suicide. This guy came home and found his wife in bed with somebody
else and shot them both. Then he shot himself."

After hesitating for a moment, the old sheriff looked his deputies squarely
in the eyes. "But, you know," he said, "it could have been worse."

The deputy who had lost the bet jumped up and shouted, "Sheriff, how
could it have been worse? There are three people in this farmhouse, and
all three of them are dead. It couldn't have been worse!!"

"Yes it could," the sheriff retorted. "You see that guy there on the floor?
If he had come home yesterday, that would be me in there in that bed!"
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