Navy Chiefs Are Honorable
One day, while a Navy Chief was cutting a branch of a tree above a river, his axe
fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, “Why are you
crying?” The Chief replied that his axe had fallen into the water, and he needed
the axe to make his living. The Lord went down into the water and reappeared
with a golden axe. “Is this your axe?” the Lord asked.
The Chief replied, “No.”
The Lord again went down and came up with a silver axe. “Is this your axe?” the
lord asked.
Again the Chief replied, “No.” The Lord went down again and came up with an
iron axe. “Is this your axe?” the Lord asked.
The Chief replied, “Yes.”
The Lord was pleased with the Chief’s honesty and gave him all three axes to
keep, and the Chief went back to the ship happy.
Sometime later the Chief was walking with his wife along the riverbank, and his
wife fell into the river.
When he cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked him, “Why are you crying?”
“Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!”
The Lord went down into the water and came up with Angelina Jolie. “Is this your
wife?” the Lord asked.
“Yes,” cried the Chief.
The Lord was furious. “You lied! That is an untruth!”
The Chief replied, “Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if
I had said ‘no’ to Angelina Jolie, you would have come up with Cameron Diaz.
Then if I said ‘no’ to her, you would have come up with my wife. Had I then said
‘yes’ you would have given me all three. Lord, I am poor old seagoing Chief, and am not able to take care of all three wives in a way that they should be, so that’s
why I said yes to Angelina Jolie.”
The moral of this story is: Whenever a Navy Chief lies, it is for a good and
honorable reason, and for the benefit of others. That’s my story, and I’m sticking
to it.
