Friendship

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 already 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, there was a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight and a magnificent gate inside the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl. The street that led to this wondrous gate was pure gold.

He and the dog walked on the street 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 come in, too?" the traveler asked, gesturing toward his dog.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we do not accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued on his way.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a single 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 traveler asked, gesturing to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump," said the man.

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was a hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself.

When their thirst was quenched, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

"What do you call this place?" the traveler 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 mother-of-pearl gate? That's Hell."

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

"No, we're just happy that they take the folks who would leave their best friend behind."