The Parable of the Two Gossips’ Bet

One day while teaching, Josh was asked, ”Teacher, should it be a shock when friendly nations spy on each other?”

Josh spoke thus:

Two gossips were sharing a garden fence.

“I’m done with gossip,” the one gossip said to the other.

“You’ll never give up gossip,” the second gossip said, “Gossip isn’t a choice.”

“Are you saying I was born a gossip?” the first gossip asked.

“I’m saying you’re a gossip,” the second gossip said, “You are a gossip, you’ve always been a gossip, and you always will be a gossip.”

“I can stop if I want to,” the first gossip said.

“I bet you can’t,” the second gossip said, “In fact, I’ll bet you a year of the best inside information down at the factory that you can’t keep a simple secret for a day.”

“That’s an empty bet,” the first gossip said, “There’s nothing happens down at that factory that I don’t know about.  It’s me that tells you everything that goes on down there.”

“I know things you don’t know,” the second gossip said, “I know things that’d curl your toes, if you knew.”

“You never do,” the first gossip said.

“Try me,” the second gossip said.

“Tell me,” the first gossip said.

“Make the bet first,” the second gossip said.

“Never mind the bet,” the first gossip said, “I don’t believe you.  Prove you know something I don’t know about down at the factory.”

“Make the bet,” the second gossip said, “Bet you can keep a secret for a day.”

“And if I lose?” the first gossip asked.

“If you lose,” the second gossip said, “You have to tell me a secret you’ve only told your husband.”

“You’re on,” the first gossip said, “I bet that if you can tell me anything that happened down at the factory and I didn’t already know it, I’ll keep it a secret for a day.”

“A full day, mind,” the second gossip said, “Twenty-four hours.”

“Twenty-four hours,” the first gossip said.  

Just then, the first gossip’s husband returned from working at the factory.  The second gossip whispered something in the first gossip’s ear.  The first gossip turned and slapped her husband.

“You did that?  With her?” the first gossip said to the first gossip’s husband, “You did that with her?  You promised only we...”

The first gossip stopped mid sentence and turned to the second gossip.

“That was the secret!” the first gossip said, “That was the secret I’ve only told my husband!  That was the secret I was going to tell you if I lost the bet.”

“I know,” the second gossip said with a slight smile.