along a road. The man was enjoy-
ing the scenery, when it suddenly
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.
"Wow! 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 traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought a moment and then
turned back toward the road and con-
tinued 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 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
"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 trav-
eler 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 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 trav-
eler 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. I can see how you might think so,
but we're just happy that they screen
out the folks who'll leave their best
friends behind."