HEAVEN AND HELL
Once upon a time, a man, his horse and his dog were travelling along a road. As they passed by a huge tree, it was struck by lightning and they all died. But the man didn't realize that he was dead so he continued walking with his two animal companions, just as before.
It was a long, uphill walk, the sun was beating down on them and they were all hot and thirsty. At a bend in the road they saw a magnificent marble gateway that led into a gold-paved square. And in the centre of the square was a fountain overflowing with crystal-clear water.
"Good morning. What is this place?"
"It's Heaven," the guard at the entrance replied.
"Well I'm very glad to see it, I can tell you, because we're extremely thirsty."
"You're welcome to come in and drink all the water you want."
"My horse and dog need water too."
"I'm terribly sorry," said the guard, "but animals are not allowed in here."
Although the man was really thirsty, he was not prepared to drink alone. So he thanked the guard and went on his way. Exhausted after more trudging uphill, they eventually reached an old gateway that opened on to a dirt road flanked by trees. A man, his hat pulled down over his face, was stretched out in the shade of one of the trees, apparently asleep.
"Good morning," said the traveler.
The other man greeted him with a nod.
"We're very thirsty - me, my horse and my dog."
"There's a spring over there amongst those rocks," said the man indicating the spot. You can drink as much as you want."
So they went to the spring, quenched their thirst and the traveler then returned to thank the man.
"By the way, what's this place called?"
"Heaven."
"Heaven. But the guard at the marble gateway told me that was Heaven!"
"That's not Heaven, that's Hell."
The traveler was puzzled. "You shouldn't let others take your name in vain, you know! False information can lead to all kinds of confusion!"
"On the contrary, they do us a great favor. The ones who stay there are those who have proved themselves capable of abandoning their dearest friends and have no place here anyway."
By Paulo Coelho(The Devil and Miss Prym)
