Back in cowboy times, a westbound wagon train was lost and low
on food. No other humans had been seen for days. Then the pioneers
saw an old Norwegian sitting beneath a tree.
"Is there some place ahead where we can get food?"
"Vell, I tink so," the old man said, "but I vouldn't
go up dat hill und down de udder side. Somevun tole me you'd run
unto a big bacon tree."
"A bacon tree?" asked the wagon train leader.
"Yah, a bacon tree. Vould I lie? Trust me. I vouldn't go
dere."
The leader goes back and tells his people what the Norwegian
said.
"So why did he say not to go there?" someone asked.
Another said, "Oh, you know those Norwegian people - they
lie just for a joke."
So the wagon train goes up the hill and down the other side.
Suddenly, Indians attack them from everywhere and massacre all
except the leader who manages to escape and get back to the old
Norwegian.
Near dead, the man shouts, "You fool! You sent us to our
deaths! We followed your route, but there was no bacon tree, just
hundreds of Indians who killed everyone but me."
The old Norwegian man holds up his hand and says, "Vait
a minute.” He quickly picks up an English-Norwegian dictionary
and begins thumbing through it. "Oof-da, I made such ah big
mishtake! It vuzn't a bacon tree. .
(Are you ready?)
"It vuz a ham bush."
