Heaven or Hell?
A
man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the
scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
He
remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead
for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.
After
a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the
road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was
broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
When
he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that
looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked
like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got
closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When
he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This
is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow!
Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of
course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right
up."
The
man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can
my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?"
the traveller asked.
"I'm
sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The
man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued
the way he had been going with his dog.
After
another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a
dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never
been closed. There was no fence.
As
he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree
and reading a book.
"Excuse
me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah,
sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."
"How
about my friend here?" the traveller gestured to the dog.
"There
should be a bowl by the pump."
They
went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand
pump with a bowl beside it.
The
traveller filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then
he gave some to the dog.
When
they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing
by the tree.
"What
do you call this place?" the traveller asked.
"This
is Heaven," he answered.
"Well,
that's confusing," the traveller said. "The man down the road
said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh,
you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's
hell."
"Doesn't
it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No,
we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their
best friends behind."
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