> Northern Australia asked their new elder if the coming winter was
> going to be cold or mild.
>
> Since he was an elder in a modern community 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 tribe should collect firewood to be prepared.
>
> But being a practical leader, after several days he had an
> idea.
>
> He walked out to the telephone booth on the highway, called
> the Bureau of Meteorology and asked, 'Is the coming winter in this area
> going to be cold?'
>
> The meteorologist responded, 'It looks like this winter is
> going to be quite cold.'
>
> So the elder went back to his people and told them to
> collect even more wood in order to be prepared.
>
> A week later he called the Bureau of Meteorology again.
> 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'
>
> The meteorologist again replied, 'Yes, it's going to be a
> very cold winter.'
>
> The elder again went back to his community and ordered them
> to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.
>
> Two weeks later the elder called the Bureau again. 'Are you
> absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?' he asked.
>
> 'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more
> like it is going to be one of the coldest winters ever.'
>
> 'How can you be so sure?' the elder asked.
>
> The weatherman replied, 'Our satellites have reported that
> the Aboriginals in the north are collecting firewood like crazy, and
> that's always a sure sign.'
>
