Happy Ending!
An old prospector shuffled into the town of El Indio, Texas leading a tired old mule. The old
man headed straight for the only saloon in town, to clear his parched
throat.
He walked up to the saloon
and tied his old mule to the hitch rail.
As he stood there,
brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped
out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the
other.
The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying,
"Hey old man, can you dance?"
The old man looked up at the gunslinger and
said, "No son, I don't dance… never really wanted to."
A crowd had
gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna
dance now!" and started shooting at the old man's feet.
The old
prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a
flea on a hot skillet.
Everybody standing around was
laughing.
When his last bullet had been fired, the young
gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into
the saloon.
The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a
double-barreled 12 gauge shotgun and cocked both hammers.
The loud
clicks carried clearly through the desert air. The crowd stopped laughing
immediately.
The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned
around very slowly.
The silence was deafening. The crowd watched as the
young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin
12 gauge barrels.
The barrels
of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly
said;
"Son, have you ever kissed a mule's ass?"
The gunslinger
swallowed hard and said, "No sir… but…but I've always wanted
to."
There are a few lessons for all of us
here:
*
Don't be
arrogant.
*
Don't waste
ammunition.
*
Whiskey makes you think you're
smarter than you are.
*
Always make sure you know who is in
control.
*
And finally, don't screw around
with old folks; they didn't
get old by being stupid.
I just love a
story with a happy ending, don't you?
