Category: Ethnic Stories
SMUGGLING
Juan came up to the Mexican border on his bicycle. He had two large bags over his shoulders. The guard stopped him and asked:
“What's in the bags?”
“Sand,” - answered Juan.
The guard said:
“We'll just see about that. Get off the bike.”
The guard took the bags and ripped them apart, emptied them out and found nothing in them but sand. He detained Juan overnight and had the sand analyzed, only to discover that there was nothing but pure sand in the bags. The guard released Juan, put the sand into new bags, hefted them onto the man's shoulders and let him cross the border. A week later, the same thing happened. The guard asked:
“What have you got?”
“Sand,” - said Juan.
The guard repeated his thorough examination and discovered that the bags contained nothing but sand. He gave the sand back to Juan and Juan crossed the border on his bicycle. This sequence of events was repeated every week for three years. Finally, Juan didn't show up one day and the guard met him a few weeks later in a cantina in Mexico.
“Hey Buddy,” - said the guard, - “I knew you were smuggling something. It's driving me crazy. It's all I think about, I can't sleep. Just between us, what were you smuggling?”
Juan sipped his beer and said:
“Bicycles.”
