Getting Attention for the Lesson

A city man and a farmer decided to exchange jobs in order that each might learn the business of the other. The farmer went to the city, and the city man came to the farm. The only instruction the farmer gave the city man who took over his farm was “Be sure to be kind to the animals. I insist on kindness to all my animals.”

After months, the farmer came back to see how the city man was getting along on the farm. He said, “Well, I have been kind to all the animals and it worked pretty well except for the mules. The mules just will not obey. They are balky all the time.”

The farmer said, “Well, I’ll show you how to cure that. That is very simple.” He took an eight-foot two-by-four and hit them a good whack between the eyes. Then he said to the city man, “Now this is the way you do it.

It’s very simple.” “But,” protested the city man, who was acting as a farmer, “You told me to be sure to be kind to your animals.

How about that?” “Oh, well,” said the farmer, “you have to get the mules’ attention first.”