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Animals and Heaven A woman and her ferret were walking along a road. The woman was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to her that she was dead. She remembered dying, and also that her faithful ferret had been dead for many years. She wondered where the road was leading them. Heaven or Hell? 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, the wall was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When she was standing before it, she saw that a magnificent gate in the arch made from mother of pearl, and a street that led to the gate made from pure gold. She and the ferret walked toward the gate, and as they got closer, she saw a man seated at a desk by the gate. When she was close enough, she called out, "Excuse me, where are we?" "This is heaven, ma'am," the man answered. "Oh my! Would you happen to have some water? We have traveled far and are very thirsty," the woman continued. "Of course, ma'am. 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 her ferret, "come in, too?" the traveler asked."I'm sorry, ma'am, but we don't accept pets in here. You'll have to leave the animal outside. They don't have souls, you know." The woman thought for a moment, remembering all the years this ferret had loved her, greeting her each evening when she returned from work with kisses and leaps of joy, and the many hours they had spent together going for walks in the country or playing tag with each other. The ferret not have a soul?!? She bent down and picked up the ferret then with renewed energy, turned away from the gate and continued on her journey. After another long walk they came to a plain dirt road which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence either. As she approached the gate, she saw a man inside the field, leaning against a tree and reading a book. "Excuse me!" she called to the reader. "Do you have any water? We have traveled far." "Yes, 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 and help yourself." "How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to her ferret. "There should be a bowl by the pump; he is welcome to share." 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, let her ferret drink his fill, then she had a drink too. When they were done, she once more carried the ferret back toward the man who was standing by the tree waiting for them. "What do you call this place?" she asked. "This is heaven," was the answer. "Well, that's confusing," she replied. "The man back 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 angry for them to use your name like that?" "No. We're just happy that they screen out the folks who'd leave their best friends behind in exchange for material things. All of God's creatures are welcome in Heaven."
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