An old mountaineer and his young wife were getting a divorce in the local court of a small, remote village. During the proceedings, custody of the children was the big problem.

The mother jumped to her feet and protested to the judge that since she had brought the children into the world, she should be the one to retain custody of them.

The old mountaineer was also seeking custody of the children. The judge asked for his side of the story.

After a lengthy silence, the mountaineer rose from his chair and said, “Judge, when I put a dollar into a coke machine and a coke comes out, does it belong to me or the machine?”