 My father lived here before me , sir , and by now I have many children and grandchildren . They get into a lot of mischief , I 'm afraid , and I 'm always after them to stop , but they never listen . And now , sir , you 're understandably fed up with us . I gather that you 're going to kill us all . But I just want you to know , sir , how sorry I am that this is our last night of life . Won 't you pardon us , one more time ? If we ever make trouble again , then of course you must act as you think best . But the young ones , sir — I 'm sure they 'll understand when I explain to them why you 're so upset . We 'll do everything we can to protect you from now on , if only you 'll forgive us , and we 'll be sure to let you know when anything good is going to happen ! " 
