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A Nice Dog Story |
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 was a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. There was a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. The man and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw someone seated at a desk.
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 first man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." He gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend come in, too?" the traveler asked, gesturing toward his dog.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought a moment, then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.
After walking quite a distance, and at the top of another long hill, they 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 traveler 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 traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then gave some to the dog.
When they were satisfied, he and the dog walked back toward the man standing by the tree.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven," he answered.
"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, we're just happy they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind." | |
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