A Lancashire working man had been married for many years to a most devout Christian woman. She had attended church several times a week and read the Bible before going to bed each night. And so on.
She became older and, as is the way of the world, she died.
The old man went round to see the local stonemason who specialised in gravestones.
“Sithee!”, he said to the mason, “A’st want thee to rite on’t stoane:
“She were always thine, Lord”.
“Reet!” replied the mason, “Coom back ’ere in a week!”
And so, the following week, the man returned to the mason’s workshop. He inspected the stone and noticed that the mason had carved:
“She were always thin, Lord”.
He pointed to the stone and said, “Loook, tha’s missed off the ‘e’”
The mason regretted his mistake and said, “A’reet, Ah see what tha means. Sorry for that lad, coom back in a couple o’ days”.
Two days later, the man returned, and inspected the stone, which now read,
“Eee, she were always thin Lord!”