Friends from Vancouver Island, British Columbia sent this little story. Perhaps there is a universal lesson here. It appears things are the same everywhere:
It’s late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.
Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn’t tell what the winter was going to be like.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.
But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, ‘Is the coming winter going to be cold ?’
‘It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,’ the meteorologist at the weather service responded.
So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared
A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. ‘Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?’
‘Yes,’ the man at National Weather Service again replied, ‘it’s going to be a very cold winter.’
The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.
Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. ‘Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?’
‘Absolutely,’ the man replied. ‘It’s looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we’ve ever seen.’
‘How can you be so sure?’ the chief asked.
The weatherman replied, ‘The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.’
Always remember this whenever you get advice from a government official!
Good one, Moon!!
LOVE IT!!!!!! LOL 🙂
Mrs. Wolverine has a distant relative in the St. Louis area. For decades she would pay neighborhood kids a quarter for each wooly caterpillar they brought to here. She would then examine the thickness of the coats of the caterpillars and predict the severity of the coming winter in the Midwest. Apparently she missed the prediction only once in about 20 years. The results of her predictions appeared in newspaper columns all over the country. The chief shoud have called her instead of the National Weather Service.
Wooly catepillars do not lie. Neither do crab apple trees.
I am surprised the Chief did not demand more blankets under the treaty and more free fuel to heat his wig wam. Oh, wait South Dakota, clearly a conservative – prepare and take care of yourself and your family first. 🙂