Henry Ziegland thought he had dodged fate.
In 1883, he broke off a relationship with his girlfriend who, out of distress, committed suicide. The girl’s brother was so enraged that he hunted down Ziegland and shot him.
The brother, believing he had killed Ziegland, then turned his gun on himself and took his own life. But Ziegland had not been killed. The bullet, in fact, had only grazed his face and then lodged in a tree. Ziegland surely thought he was a lucky man.
Twenty years later, however, Ziegland decided to cut down the large tree, which still had the bullet in it. The task seemed so formidable that he decided to blow it up with a few sticks of dynamite.
The explosion propelled the bullet into Ziegland’s head, killing him.
Vocabulary Help
- believe – acreditar
- blow it up – explodir
- break off a relationship – terminar um relacionamento
- brother – irmão
- bullet – bala
- cut down – cortar
- distress – desespero
- enraged – enraivecido
- fate – destino
- girlfriend – namorada
- grazed his face – arranhou sua face
- gun – arma
- hunt down – caçar
- kill – matar
- lodge in a tree – alojou-se em uma árvore
- lucky man – homem de sorte
- shoot – atirar
- sticks of dynamite – bananas de dinamite
- still – ainda
- task – tarefa
- took his own life – tirou sua própria vida