In the dead of summer a fly was resting on a leaf beside a lake. He was ahot, dry fly who said to no one in particular, „Gosh! If I go down threeinches I will feel the mist from the water and I will be refreshed.“There was a fish in the water thinking, „Gosh! If that fly goes down threeinches I can eat him.“There was a bear on the shore thinking, „Gosh! If that fly goes down threeinches… that fish will jump for the fly… and I will eat him.“It also happened that a hunter was further up the bank of the lake,preparing to eat a cheese sandwich. „Gosh!“ he thought, „If that fly goesdown three inches… and that fish leaps for it… that bear will exposehimself and grab for the fish. I’ll shoot the bear and then have a properlunch.“You probably think this is enough activity for one bank of a lake, but Ican tell you there was more.A wee mouse by the hunter’s foot was thinking, „Gosh! If that fly goes downthree inches… and that fish jumps for that fly …and that bear grabs forthat fish… the dumb hunter will shoot the bear and drop his cheese sandwich.“A cat, lurking in the bushes took in this scene and thought, as wasfashionable to do on the banks of this particular lake around lunchtime,“Gosh… if that fly goes down three inches…and that fish jumps for thatfly… and that bear grabs for that fish …and that hunter shoots thatbear… and that mouse makes off with the cheese sandwich… then I can have mouse for lunch.“The poor fly is finally so hot and so dry that he heads down for thecooling mist of the water… The fish swallows the fly… The bear grabsthe fish.. The hunter shoots the bear… The mouse grabs the cheesesandwich… The cat jumps for the mouse… The mouse ducks…The cat fallsinto the water and drowns.The moral of the story is….Whenever a fly goes down three inches… Somewhere there’s a pussy in trouble.
