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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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