A man goes into a pet shop and tells
the owner that he wants to buy a pet that can do everything. The owner says, "How
about a dog?" The man replies, "Come on, a dog can't do everything."
The owner says "How about a cat?"
The man replies, "No way! A cat certainly can't do everything. I want a pet that can
do everything!"
The owner thinks for a minute. Then says,
"I've got it! A centipede!" The man says, "Centipede? I can't imagine a
centipede doing everything but, ok ... I'll try a centipede."
He gets the centipede home and
says to the centipede, "Clean the kitchen." Thirty minutes later, he walks into
the kitchen and it's immaculate. All the dishes and silverware have been washed, dried, and put away. The countertops cleaned. The
appliances sparkling. The floor waxed. He's absolutely amazed.
He says to the centipede, "Go
clean the living room." Twenty minutes later, he walks into the living room. The
carpet has been vacuumed. The furniture cleaned and dusted. The pillows on the sofa
plumped. The plants are watered. The man thinks to himself, "This is the most amazing
thing I've ever seen. This is a pet that can really do everything."
He says to the centipede, "Run down to
the corner and get me a newspaper." The centipede walks out the door. Ten minutes
later, no centipede. Twenty minutes later, no centipede. Thirty minutes later, no
centipede.
The man is wondering what's going on. The
centipede should have been back by now. Forty-five minutes later, still no centipede. The
man can't imagine what could have happened. Did the centipede run away? Did it get run
over by a car? Where was the centipede?
He goes to the front door, opens it, and
there's the centipede sitting right outside the door. The man says,
"Hey! I sent you 45 minutes ago to run
down to the corner and just get me a newspaper. What's the story?"
The centipede says, "I'm goin'! I'm
goin'! I'm puttin' on my shoes!"
