In which we celebrate Saturday Stories : A Dog-lover's Story
This is one of the very first stories I learned, and I cannot remember where the heck I learned it. How frustrating.
For years I searched for the source of this story, and believe it or not, it appears that a version of the tale was originally written by Rod Serling as an episode of The Twilight Zone. I've never seen the episode, but it surely makes for a nice story! --A
The Dog-Lover's Story
A man and his dog were walking home one night, when a branch broke from a tree overhead and fell on them both, killing them instantly.
After a while, they stood up.
In front of them was a road, so they followed it.
After a while, they came to a big green lawn surrounded by a high fence.
Out on the lawn, well-dressed people were sitting at card tables, playing games and drinking lemonade. The man waved to the people, and some of them waved back.
When he came to the beautiful gates, the man started to walk in, but from overhead he heard a gigantic voice say, "Hey! You can't bring that dirty old dog in here! No animals allowed."
The man looked at the green lawn and the card tables and the lemonade.
Then he looked down at his dog.
"Well," he said to the dog, "if they won't let you in here, I guess I don't need to go in either."
So they kept walking down the road.
After a while, they came to a big field. Out in the field, some folks were playing with dogs. Some folks were sleeping in the sun with cats. Some folks were riding horses up in the hills.
The man waved to the people, and some of them waved back.
He got to the gate and looked in.
Then he asked, "What is this place?"
And the people inside answered,
"Well, this is Heaven. Come on in! And bring that fine dog with you!"
For years I searched for the source of this story, and believe it or not, it appears that a version of the tale was originally written by Rod Serling as an episode of The Twilight Zone. I've never seen the episode, but it surely makes for a nice story! --A
The Dog-Lover's Story
A man and his dog were walking home one night, when a branch broke from a tree overhead and fell on them both, killing them instantly.
After a while, they stood up.
In front of them was a road, so they followed it.
After a while, they came to a big green lawn surrounded by a high fence.
Out on the lawn, well-dressed people were sitting at card tables, playing games and drinking lemonade. The man waved to the people, and some of them waved back.
When he came to the beautiful gates, the man started to walk in, but from overhead he heard a gigantic voice say, "Hey! You can't bring that dirty old dog in here! No animals allowed."
The man looked at the green lawn and the card tables and the lemonade.
Then he looked down at his dog.
"Well," he said to the dog, "if they won't let you in here, I guess I don't need to go in either."
So they kept walking down the road.
After a while, they came to a big field. Out in the field, some folks were playing with dogs. Some folks were sleeping in the sun with cats. Some folks were riding horses up in the hills.
The man waved to the people, and some of them waved back.
He got to the gate and looked in.
Then he asked, "What is this place?"
And the people inside answered,
"Well, this is Heaven. Come on in! And bring that fine dog with you!"
A very happy birthday to you, and thanks for the lovely story!
ReplyDeleteOne version or another of this story makes the rounds on the interwebz now and then.
ReplyDeleteThe ending I like is when the man asks the gate-keeper "What is this place?" and the keeper says "This is Heaven."
The man says "That's what they told me down the road, where they wouldn't let me bring my dog in."
And the gate-keeper replies something to the effect that "Oh, that is Hell. We wouldn't let anyone in here that would leave their best friend behind."
Or something like that...