Cafeoutdoors.com: Walking Home

An old farmer took his pickup truck in for repairs, and the mechanic said it would take a few hours. That was OK with the farmer, as his farm was at the edge of town and he could just walk home.

Since he was downtown, he stopped in a hardware store and bought a bucket and a gallon of paint. Then he stopped by the feed store and bought a goose and two chickens.

Out on the sidewalk in front of the store, he was puzzled about how to carry all that home. An old lady passing by saw he was having trouble, and she told him to put the paint can in the bucket, to carry the goose in his other hand, and to put a chicken under each arm.

Then she asked him if he knew where 304 Mockingbird Lane was. The farmer said that was right on his way home, and if she wanted to walk with him he'd show her.

They walked along for a couple of blocks, and the farmer said if they'd go through a narrow alley, it would be a short cut.

The lady said "I don't know. I'm a widow with no one to protect me. How do I know you won't push me up against a wall in that alley, pull my skirt up, and have your way with me?"

The farmer said "Lady, how could I do that carrying all this stuff?".

She said "Well, you could put the goose on the ground with the bucket over it and set the paint can on top. I'll hold the chickens."