A man was riding his horse down a road, his dog padding
along by their side. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly
occurred to him that he was dead.
He remembered dying, and that his horse and dog 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 nudged the horse 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 friends," gesturing downward towards his horse
and dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept animals."
The man thought a moment and then turned his horse back
toward the road and continued the way he had been going.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long
hill, he came to a dirt road which led 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 reader. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there." The man pointed
to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."
"How about my friends here?" the traveler asked.
"There should be a bowl and a bucket by the pump." They
went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand
pump with a bowl and a bucket beside it. The traveler filled the bowl
and took a long drink himself, then gave some to the dog while he filled
the bucket for his horse. When they all were satisfied, he led his horse
back toward the man who was standing by the tree waiting for them, the
dog following faithfully behind.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is heaven," was the answer.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler 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. I can see how you might think so, but we're just
happy that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends
behind."
Go on to For Cleo
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