Hunting Ducks

Much to his dismay, after hours and hours he hasn’t spotted a single one. Finally, he spots a duck

past the treeline, and gets ready to shoot. The duck is sitting on a fence post, nice and open; an

easy shot. The lawyer takes aim and fires – it’s a perfect shot, and the duck falls over onto

the other side of the fence. As the lawyer is walking over to collect his prize, an old man

approaches from across the fence. Before the lawyer can pick up the duck, the old man says: “Hold

on a minute partner! Everything past this fence is my property. Since the duck is on it, it stands

to reason that this is my duck.” The lawyer, annoyed, replies: “Well I’m the one who shot it,

so obviously it’s mine.” The old man, experienced with these types of people, proposes a

solution. “Back in my day, we had a way to resolve disputes like this. What we would do is take

turns throwing punches at the other guy’s face, and the first person to fall over would lose. It

works every time.” The lawyer, who was in his early thirties and in good enough shape, figured he

might as well humour the old-timer. Based on his estimation, the guy couldn’t be a day younger

than sixty, and it would only take one or two clean hits to get him on the ground, so he agreed to

the challenge. “Alright,” the old man said. “I’ll swing first, then you can go.” The

lawyer straightened his posture and prepared for the punch. Whabam! The old guy threw a stronger

punch than he expected! Regardless, the lawyer stood sturdy, although his face stung like hell and

he knew it would leave a mark for sure. The lawyer, rolling up his sleeves, says: “ok buddy, that

was a pretty good swing. You’ve got a strong arm – but it’s my turn now, you’d better get

ready!” Before the lawyer can take his swing, the old man says: “Actually, it’s all good, you

can keep the duck.”