"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.
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.'"
