It was autumn, and the Indians on the remote reservation asked their
new Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was an Indian
Chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he
looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the weather was going to be.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his tribe that the
winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village
should collect firewood to be prepared.
Also, being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He
went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, "Is
the coming winter going to be cold?"
"It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold indeed," the
meteorologist at the weather service responded. So the Chief went back to
his people and told them to collect even more wood in order to be prepared.
A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Is it
going to be a very cold winter?"
"Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "it's
definitely going to be a very cold winter." The Chief again went back to his
people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find.
Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Are you
absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?"
"Absolutely," the man replied. "It's going to be one of the coldest
winters ever."
"How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked.
The weatherman replied, "The Indians are collecting wood like crazy."
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