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 his faithful dog had been dead for many
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. As he reached the wall, he saw a magnificent
gate in the arch, and the street that led to the gate made from 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? We
have traveled far," the man said. "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 traveler
asked. "I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets." The man
thought a moment, remembering all the years this dog remained loyal
to him and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he
had been going. After another long walk he came to a plain 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? We have
traveled far." "Yes, sure, there's a faucet over there."
The man pointed to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the
gate. "Come on in and help yourself." "How about my
friend here?" the traveler gestured to his dog. "There
should be a bowl by the faucet; he is welcome to share." They
went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned
faucet with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the 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 waiting for them. "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. We're just happy that they screen out the folks who'd leave
their best friends behind in exchange for material things."
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