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Martha’s Secret Ingredient
It bothered Ben every time he went through the kitchen. It was that little metal container on the shelf above Martha’s cookstove. He probably would not have noticed it so much or been bothered by it if Martha had not repeatedly told him never to touch it. The reason, she said, was that it contained a “secret herb” from her mother, and since she had no way of ever refilling the container, she was concerned that if Ben or anyone else ever picked it up and looked inside, they might accidentally drop it and spill all its valuable contents. The container wasn’t really much to look at. It was so old that much of its original red and gold floral colors had faded. You could tell right where it had been gripped again and again as the container was lifted and its tight lid pulled off. Not only Martha’s fingers had gripped it there, but her mother’s and her grandmother’s had, too. Martha didn’t know for sure, but she felt that perhaps even her great-grandmother had used this same container and its secret herb.
The Phone Call
The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about
an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the
employees home phone number and was greeted with a child’s whispered
on the first ring, “Hello?”
Subject: The Stages of Life
God created the mule, and told him, “You will be Mule, working
constantly from dusk to dawn, carrying heavy loads on your back.
You will eat grass and you lack intelligence. You will live for 50
years.” The mule answered: “To live like this for 50 years is too
much. Please, give me no more than 20.” And it was so.