A preacher went to his church office on
Monday morning and discovered a dead
donkey in the church yard so he called the
police.

Since there didn't appear to be any
foul play, the police referred the preacher
to the health department.

The health department explained that since
there was no health threat, the preacher
should call the sanitation department.

The sanitation manager explained that he
couldn't pick up the donkey without
authorization from the mayor.

Now, the preacher knew the mayor, and
was not to eager to call him.

The mayor had
a bad temper and was generally hard to deal
with, but the preacher called him anyway.

The mayor did not disappoint.

He immediately
began to rant and rave at the pastor and finally
said, "Why did you call me anyway? Isn't it your
job to bury the dead?"

The preacher paused for a brief prayer and
then explained, "Yes, mayor, it is my job to bury
the dead, but I wanted to notify the ass's next of
kin first. So I decided to call you!"