An old prospector shuffled into town leading an old tired mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon to clear his parched throat. He walked up and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?" The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance... never really wanted to." A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna dance now," and started shooting at the old man's feet. The old prospector --not wanting to get a toe blown off-- started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet. Everybody was laughing. When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon. The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air. The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly. The silence was almost deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels. The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have you ever licked a mule's ass?" The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir..... but... I've always wanted to." There are a few lessons for us all here.........!!!!! Never be arrogant. Don't waste ammunition. Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are. Always, always make sure you know who has the power. Don't mess with old men, they didn't get old by being stupid.
Very good joke and good story to a point. Problem is, it didn't go far enough. After the gunslinger frenched the mules ass, this old man should have killed him, reloaded, and turned to the crowd and said, "anyone have a problem with that?" Just as the gunslinger made a fatal mistake to turn his back on the humiliated old man, the old man would truly be a fool to let the humiliated gunslinger live. It was a rough hard ruthless world then, and it may be again before we know it. You don't survive by being stupid.
Really? It's a joke. You remember those - HA HA and all that. Good grief! IMO: The ending is sufficient. Good one!
Is this considered to be part of the joke? Oh really. . I understood the joke, and enjoyed it, and stated as much. The world is not Utopia, and it may well get a whole lot worse. In a lawless situation (I think the joke was an excellent example of that), leaving a humiliated dangerous man alive, who you have also made an enemy of, is like walking away from a wounded dangerous animal.
Tac, I am surrounded by squirrels! It is a joke and not a survival situation. Wake up. Get out from under that rock and smell the ****ing fresh air. We are proving that Walter Kerr was right, "Half the world is composed of idiots, the other half of people clever enough to take indecent advantage of them. " Stop making other people wealthy!