A Mule for all Seasons
A farmer had a wife
who nagged him unmercifully. From morning
till night (and sometimes later), she was always complaining about something. The
only time he got any relief was when he was out plowing with his old mule. He
tried to plow a lot.
One day, when he was
out plowing, his wife brought him lunch
in the field. He drove the old mule into the shade, sat down on a stump, and
began to eat his lunch. Immediately, his wife began haranguing him again.
Complain, nag, nag; it just went on and on.
All of a sudden, the
old mule lashed out with both hind feet;
caught her smack in the back of the head. Killed her dead on the spot.
At the funeral
several days later, the minister noticed something
rather odd. When a woman mourner would approach the old farmer, he would listen
for a minute, then nod his head in agreement; but when a man mourner approached
him, he would listen for a minute, then shake his head in disagreement. This
was so consistent, the minister decided to ask the farmer about it.
So after the
funeral, the minister spoke to the farmer, and asked him why he nodded his
head and agreed with the women, but always shook his head and disagreed with
all the men.
The farmer said:
'Well, the women would come up and say something
about how nice my wife looked, or how pretty her dress was, so I'd nod my head
in agreement.'
'And what about the
men?' the minister asked.
'They wanted to know if the mule was for sale.
