Down & Out

I ONCE HEARD ABOUT A FARMER who was continually optimistic, seldom discouraged or blue.  He had a neighbor who was just the opposite.  Grim and gloomy, he faced each new morning with a heavy sigh.

The happy, optimistic farmer would see the sun coming up and shout over the roar of the tractor, “Look at the beautiful sun and clear sky!”  And with a frown, the negative neighbor would reply, “Yeah - it’ll probably scorch the crops!”

When clouds would gather and much-needed rain would start to fall, our positive friend would smile across the fence, “Ain’t this great - God is giving our corn a drink today!”  Again, the same negative response, “Uh huh, but if it doesn’t stop ‘fore long it’ll flood and wash everything away.”

One day the optimist decided to put his troubled neighbor to the maximum test.  He bought the smartest, most expensive bird dog he could find.  He trained him to do things no other dog on earth could do - impossible feats that would surely astonish anyone.

He invited the down and out man to go duck hunting with him.  They sat in the boat, hidden in the duck blind.  In came the ducks.  Both men fired and several ducks fell into the water.  “Go get ‘em!”  ordered the owner with a gleam in his eye.  The dog leaped out of the boat, walked on the water, and picked up the birds one by one.

 “Well, what do you think of that?”
 Unsmiling, the pessimist answered, “He can’t swim, can he?”
-Copied-