"This Is Good!"

      There was an African king who had a close friend that he grew up with. The friend
had a habit of looking at most every situation that occurred in his life and remarking
"This is good!"

     One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend
cleaned and loaded the guns for the king.   The friend had apparently done
something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his
friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.

     Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!"

     To which the king replied, "No this is not good!" He sentenced his friend to jail.

     About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to
stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied him to a
stake surrounded by wood.

     As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed the king had but one thumb.
Being superstitious, they never ate anyone with less than whole body. They
immediately untied the king and sent him away.

     As he returned home, he thought about his recent shooting accident and felt very
sorry about  his friend.  He went immediately to the jail and said to his friend, "You were
right, it was good that my thumb was blown off."  He proceeded to tell about his
frightening encounter with cannibals.  He concluded, "It was very wrong to send you
to jail.  It was bad for me to do this."

     "No," his friend replied, "this is good!"  "What do you mean, 'this is good'!   How could
it be good that I sent you, my friend, to jail for all this time?" 

    "If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you - and surely eaten!"