" Late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in North Dakota
asked" " their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild."
" Since he was a 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 winter
was going to be like."
" Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter
was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should
collect firewood to be prepared."
" But, 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,' the meteorologist
at the weather service responded."
" So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more
firewood in order to be prepared."
" A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it
still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?' "
" 'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going to
be a very cold winter.' "
" The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect
every scrap of firewood they could find."
" Two weeks later, the chief 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 looking more and more like it is
going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'"
" 'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked. "
" The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting a crapload of
firewood'"
