Jake, Johnny, and Billy died and went to heaven.

“Welcome,” St. Peter said. “You’ll be very happy here if you just obey our rule: Never step on a duck. If you step on a duck, the duck quacks, they all start quacking and it makes a terrible racket.”

That sounded simple enough until they passed through the Pearly Gates and found thousands of ducks everywhere.

Jake stepped on one right away.

The ducks quacked, making an unholy racket, and St. Peter came up to Jake bringing with him a ferocious-looking Amazon woman. “I warned you if you broke the rule you’d be punished,” St. Peter said. Then he chained the Amazon woman to Jake for eternity.

Several hours later, Johnny stepped on a duck. The duck quacked, they all quacked, and St. Peter stepped up to Johnny with an angry-looking, shrewish woman. “As your punishment,” St. Peter told Johnny, “you’ll be chained to this woman for eternity.”

Billy was extremely careful not to step on a duck. Several months went by.

Then St. Peter came up to him with a gorgeous blonde and chained her to Billy, uniting them for all time.

“Wow!” exclaimed Billy. “I wonder what I did to deserve this?”

“I don’t know about you,” said the beautiful woman, “but I stepped on a duck.”