Ferry Tale
Three men — a priest, a beggar and an economist — arrived from three directions at the riverside quay of a ferryman. The ferryman requested a penny per man, round trip. The priest and the economist paid, each receiving a wooden token good for the return voyage, but the beggar couldn’t afford passage.
After the ferryman set out with his two paying customers, the beggar stood for a moment on the shore, took off his shoes, and walked across the water.
The priest crossed himself twice and shouted upward to the heavens, “God in heaven, ‘tis a miracle!”
“Yes, father, but only a ha’penny one,” said the economist.
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This entry is part of my journal, published January 9, 2007, in New York.