THE COWBOY AT THE PEARLY GATES

An old cowboy was riding his trusty horse, followed by his faithful dog, along
an unfamiliar road.

The cowboy was enjoying the new scenery,
when he suddenly remembered dying,
and realized the dog beside him
had been dead for years, as had his horse.

Confused, he wondered what was happening,
and where the trail was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high,
white stone wall that looked like fine marble.

At the top of a long hill, the wall
was broken by a tall arch topped by a golden letter "H" that glittered in the sunlight.

Within the arch was a magnificent gate
made of mother-of-pearl, and the street
that led past gate seemed to be paved
with gold.

He rode toward the gate, and as he came closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

Parched and tired out by his journey,
the cowboy called out, "Excuse me, Sir,
where are we?"

"This is Heaven," answered the smiling man.

"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."

As the gate began to open, the cowboy asked, "Can I bring my partners, too?"

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

The cowboy thought for a moment, then turned back to the road and continued riding,
his dog trotting by his side.

After another long ride, at the top
of another hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a ranch gate that looked
as if it had never been closed. 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?"

"Sure, there's a pump right over there.
Help yourself."

"How about my friends here?" the traveler gestured to the dog and his horse.

"Of course! They look thirsty, too,"
said the man.

The trio went through the gate,
and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with buckets beside it.
The traveler filled a cup and the buckets
with wonderfully cool water and took a long drink, as did his horse and dog.

When they were full, he walked back
to the man who was still standing
by the tree.

"What do you call this place?"
the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"That's confusing," the traveler said.
"The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the glitzy,
gold street and fake pearly gates?
. . . . That's hell."

"Doesn't it make you angry when they use
your name like that?"

"Not at all...

Actually, we're happy they screen out
the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

Amen to all that...

Author unknown

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