'The Hunt' And The Moral of the Story is one most of US, Kindred Spirits, Vehemently Live by...♥️🐾♥️🐾

 

December

I'm told this endearing, old story-tale was portrayed on a

Rod Sterling episode of

Twilight Zone...

'The Hunt'

And The Moral of the Story is one most of US, Kindred Spirits, Vehemently Live by...

"A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.

He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. Standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, when he saw a man at a desk to one side.

He called out, “Excuse me, where are we?”

“This is Heaven, sir,” the man answered.

“Would you happen to have some water?” the man asked.

“Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up'”

The gate began to open.

“Can my friend come in, too?” the traveler asked, gesturing towards his dog.

“I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.”

The man thought a moment, turned back toward the road, and continued on his way.

After another long walk, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside leaning against a tree and reading a book.

“Excuse me!” he called to the man. “Do you have any water?”

“Yes, there's a pump over there, come on in.”

“How about my friend here?” the traveler gestured to the dog.

“There should be a bowl by the pump.”

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was a pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

“What do you call this place?” the traveler asked.

“This is Heaven,” he answered.

“Well, that's confusing,” the traveler said. “The man down the road said that was Heaven too.”

“Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell.”

“Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?” the traveler asked.

“No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.”

Author unknown.

Episode Summary

Hyder Simpson lives with his wife and his hound-dog Rip in the backwoods. Mrs. Simpson does not like having the dog indoors, but Rip saved Hyder's life once, and Hyder won't be parted from him. Mrs. Simpson has seen some bad omens recently, and warns Hyder not to go raccoon hunting that night. When Rip dives into a pond after a raccoon, Hyder jumps in after him, but only the raccoon comes up out of the water. Next morning, Hyder and Rip wake up next to the pond. When they return home, Hyder finds that neither his wife, the preacher, nor the neighbors can hear him or see him—they seem to think that he and Rip are dead. Walking along the road, he encounters a fence he doesn't recognize, and decides to follow it. Presently, both come to a gate tended by a man. Simpson asks him if he is Saint Peter. Explaining only that he is a gatekeeper, the man explains that Simpson can enter the Elysian Fields. Simpson is appreciative, but disheartened to hear that there is no raccoon hunting there, nor are there any of his other usual pleasures. When he is told that Rip can't enter and will be taken elsewhere ("up the road"), he declines and angrily goes on down the "Eternity Road" rather than enter the gate without his beloved dog. Simpson states, "Any place that's too high-falutin' for Rip is too fancy for me." Later, after stopping to rest, Simpson and Rip are met by a young angel whose job is to find and bring them to Heaven. Simpson tells the angel about his experience at the first gate, commenting "Son, that'd be a helluva place without Rip!" The angel replies "Mr. Simpson, you ain't far wrong - that is Hell! Heaven's up yonder a piece," pointing up Eternity Road. When asked by Simpson why the gatekeeper at the gate to Hades wouldn't let him bring Rip inside with him, the angel explains that the reason Rip was not allowed in was because the dog would have been able to smell the brimstone and alert Simpson that something was wrong. The angel says, "You see, Mr. Simpson -- a man, well, he'll walk right into Hell with both eyes open. But even the Devil can't fool a dog!" The angel also tells Hyder that there will be a raccoon hunt in Heaven that night, "right after the square dance," and assures him that his wife, who will be coming shortly, will not be misled into entering Hell.

Closing Narration

"Travelers to unknown regions would be well advised to take along the family dog. He could just save you from entering the wrong gate. At least, it happened that way once—in a mountainous area of the Twilight Zone."

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