LONG SPOONS I died and went to Heaven, or so I thought. I stood before a bearded figure, but a bright veil separated his luminous world from mine. “You present me with a problem”, he said. ‘‘Any good or bad you have done has been either trivial or unintentional, and your life has been so bland and mediocre, I can make no clear judgement where you should go. I have no alternative but to give you a choice”.
He took me to Hell. Its inhabitants sat at long banqueting tables, filled with delicious food. | was surprised by the ease and luxuriousness of their surroundings. However, on closer examination, the diners all appeared starving and miserable. My guide explained that the difficulty was that they were only allowed to eat with spoons over a yard long, and were therefore unable to bring the food to their mouths.
I then asked to be shown Heaven, and was taken to an identical room with identical dimensions and decor. The inhabitants sat at identical banqueting tables, and the feast before them was entirely similar. The spoons were the same also, but the inhabitants were well and happy.
They were feeding each other!
With that I awoke, sat up and looked around me. In the dim light I noticed that the decor and dimensions of this room, too, were the same.
Adapted by Richard Smith from a traditional tale.