Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Closing the Gate

One morning a zookeeper discovered that a kangaroo was out of his enclosure and roaming freely in the zoo. Knowing the kangaroos can hop very high, he instructed the zoo workers to construct a ten foot high fence around the kangaroo’s enclosure.

The next morning the zookeeper discovered that the kangaroo had once again gotten out of his enclosure, so this time he instructed the zoo workers to construct a twenty foot high fence. The next morning the kangaroo was once again found wandering around the zoo. This time the fence was extended to 40 feet high.

The camel in the next enclosure asked the kangaroo, “How high do you think they will go?”

“Pretty high,” the kangaroo replied, “unless somebody figures out to close the gate at night.”

[from Tommy Burrus, “Passing the Torch,” sermoncentral.com]

The voice of God

A former park ranger at Yellowstone National Park tells the story of a ranger leading a group of hikers to a fire lookout. The ranger was so intent on telling the hikers about the flowers and animals that he considered the messages on his two-way radio distracting, so he switched it off. Nearing the tower, the ranger was met by a nearly breathless lookout, who asked why he hadn’t responded to the messages on his radio. A grizzly bear had been seen stalking the group, and the authorities were trying to warn them of the danger. -- Harold M. Wiest; Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada via Nathan Johnson, sermoncentral.com