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 between the
arches
that looked like mother of pearl
and that the street that led beyond 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 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 continued the way he had been going.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill,
the man 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 you have any water?"
"Yes, there's a pump right 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 traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump," the man said.
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.
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man,
who was standing by then, waiting for them.
"What do you call this place?" he asked.
"This is heaven," was the answer.
"Well, that's confusing," he said, "the man down the road said
that was heaven too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the street of gold and the pearly gates?
That's hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No. I can see you might think so, but we're just happy that
they screen out the people who would leave their dogs behind..."
