Fun_People Archive
22 Jan
Best friends (a boy and his dog...)

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 100 00:15:46 -0800
To: Fun_People
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Subject: Best friends (a boy and his dog...)

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A boy and his dog were walking along a road.  The boy was enjoying the
walk, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead! [I *hate* when
that happens!  -psl]  He remembered dying and that his dog had died with
him.  After a while, they came to a high, white marble wall along one side
of the road.

At the top of a long hill, the wall was broken by a tall arch that glowed
in the sunlight.  In the arch was a magnificent mother-of-pearl gate, and
the street that led to the gate shone like gold.  The boy walked up, and as
he got closer, he saw an attendant at a desk to one side.  He called out,
"Excuse me, do you have any water?"

"This is heaven, son," the attendant answered.  "And of course we have
water.  Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."
The attendant gestured, and the gate swung open.

"Can my friend come in, too?" the boy asked, gesturing toward his dog.

"Oh I'm sorry, son, but we don't accept pets."

The boy thought a moment, and then turned back toward the road, continuing
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 which led through an
open farm gate.  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."  The man pointed to a place that
couldn't be seen from outside the gate.  "Come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the boy gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump."

They went through the gate, and there was an old-fashioned hand pump with
a bowl beside it.  The boy filled the bowl and put it down for the dog.
While the dog was drinking, he took a long drink directly from the pump.
When they were full, they walked back toward the man standing by the tree
waiting for them.

"It's very nice here.  What do you call this place?" the boy asked.

"This is heaven," was the answer.

"Well, that's confusing," the boy 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 really hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?" the boy
asked.

"No.  I can see how you might it's wrong, but it helps them screen out the
folks who would leave their best friends behind."

© 2000 Peter Langston