A Sweater Story
One blustery winter day, a man stood outside shivering, wearing nothing but a tattered T-shirt made of paper.
A passing stranger wearing a warm, wool sweater stopped and offered help.
“It’s really cold out here. You okay?”
“Of course I’m okay,” replied the man in the paper shirt. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I just thought you might be cold. If you need a sweater or something, I can show you how to get one.”
The man in the T-shirt suddenly became defensive: “Why would I need a sweater? My parents gave me this shirt as a kid and told me it would protect me in any weather.”
“It’s just that I saw you shivering. I thought you might still be cold,” the sweater man replied.
“This shirt has mystical powers that you couldn’t possibly understand! Who are you to question it? It keeps me warm in sub-zero temperatures and cool during the summer. It’s all I need.”
“Gosh, it’s starting to rain now. I mean, your shirt is falling apart. Really, I don’t mind loaning you my sweater if you want it.”
The man in the paper T-shirt became outright hostile.
“You’re one of those crazy Sweater People, aren’t you?! I was warned about your kind! I heard that your type is a slave to the temperature and that you go on and on about how cold weather affects people. I told you, my mystical T-shirt is all I need!”