It's late fall and the
Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota
asked their new chief if the coming winter was
going to be cold or mild.
Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had
never been taught the old secrets. When he
looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the
winter was going to be like.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told
his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be
cold and that the members of the village should
collect firewood to be prepared.
But, being a practical leader, after several
days, he got an idea. He went to the phone
booth, called the National Weather Service and
asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'
'It looks like this winter is going to be quite
cold,' the meteorologist at the weather service
responded.
So the chief went back to his people and told
them to collect even more firewood in order to
be prepared.
A week later, he called the National Weather
Service again. 'Does it still look like it is
going to be a very cold winter?'
'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again
replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.'
The chief again went back to his people and
ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood
they could find.
Two weeks later, the chief called the National
Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure
that the winter is going to be very cold?'
'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's
looking more and more like it is going to be one
of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'
'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.
The weatherman replied,
'The Indians are collecting firewood like
crazy.'
Remember this story whenever you get advice from
a government official!
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