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.”