It was late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old ways. When he looked into the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.

To be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the village should collect firewood to be prepared.

However, being a practical leader, after several day he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'

'We are forecasting this winter to be quite cold,' the meteorologist at the weather service responded. So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it still look like this is going to be a cold winter?'

'Yes.' the man at the National Weather Service again replied, 'It's going to be
a very cold winter.' The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.

Another week went by and the chief called the National Weather Service again. 'Are
you still certain that this winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters of record.'

'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.

The weatherman replied, 'Because the Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.'