The Safari


Two safari guides in Africa were having a drink on the veranda and
watching the sun go down when they became engaged in an argument over
which was the better guide. Since each simply refused to believe the
other's hunting stories they were unable to resolve the dispute
themselves. They decided the only way to decide was to hunt the very
next day and the first of them to kill a lion would win the distinction.
A bet was also made that the loser must buy the winner a pint of his
favorite whisky. At dawn the next morning one hunter was off with his
bearers, beaters, Land Rovers, and all of the other equipment needed for
a successful hunt. All this while the other hunter was sitting on the
veranda, his feet up on the railing, watching the hunters leave and
drinking his morning coffee.

The hunter on safari hunted high and low all day and just before dark
finally was able to surround a lion with his native hunters and beaters.
As the circle became tighter and tighter the lion finally broke cover
and ran into the open. The hunter drew a careful bead on the lion and
just as he was about to squeeze off the killing shot, the other hunter
suddenly swooped over the hunting site in an airplane, pulled out a
machine gun and shot and killed the lion thus winning the bet.

The hunter on the ground was outraged. Back at the lodge he confronted
the other hunter about his poor sportsmanship and his lack of honor to
the spirit of the challenge. When asked to explain himself the winner
said "I don't understand why you are so upset. I thought everybody knows
... the shortest distance between two pints is a strafed lion." 
(By Bill Edwards)