Heaven and Hell

A holy man was having a conversation with God one
day and said, "Father, I would like to know what
Heaven and Hell are like."

So God led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table. In
the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which
smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth
water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly.
They appeared to be famished. They were holding
spoons with very long handles that were strapped to
their arms and each found it possible to reach into the
pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the
handle was longer than their arms, they could not get
the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and
suffering.

God said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It
was exactly the same as the first one. There was the
large round table with the large pot of stew which made
the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped
with the same long-handled spoons, but here the
people were well nourished and plump, laughing and
talking. The holy man said, "I don't understand."

"It is simple," God said. "It requires but one skill.
You see they have learned to feed each other,
while the greedy think only of themselves.."