One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch
of a tree above a
river, his axe fell into the river.
When he cried out loud, the Lord appeared and
asked, "Why are you
crying?"
The woodcutter replied that his axe had fallen
into water, and he
needed
the axe to make his living.
The Lord went down into the water and reappeared
with a golden axe.
"Is this your axe?" the Lord asked.
The woodcutter replied, "No."
The Lord again went down and came up with a silver
axe.
"Is this your axe?" the Lord asked.
Again, the woodcutter replied, "No."
The Lord went down again and came up with an iron
axe.
"Is this your axe?" the Lord asked.
The woodcutter replied, "Yes."
The Lord was pleased with the man's honesty and
gave him all three axes
to keep, and the woodcutter went home happy.
Some time later the woodcutter was walking with
his wife long the
riverbank, and his wife fell into the river.
When he cried out loud, the Lord again appeared
and asked him, "Why are
you crying?"
"Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!"
The Lord went down into the water and came up with
Jessica Alba.
"Is this your wife?" the Lord asked.
"Yes," cried the woodcutter.
The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is an
untruth!"
The woodcutter replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord.
It is a
misunderstanding.
You see, if I had said 'no' to Jessica Alba, You
would have come up
with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Then if I also said
'no' to her, you would
have come up with my wife. Had I then said 'yes,'
you would have given
me all three.
Lord, I am a poor man, and am not able to take
care of all three wives,
so THAT'S why I said yes to Jessica Alba."
The moral of this story is: Whenever a man lies,
it is for a good and
honorable reason, and for the benefit of others.