An old prospector had never seen railroad tracks or trains before, having lived his whole life in the desert. Thus, when railroad tracks were built near his claim, and he was visiting their curious site by walking down the ties, he was oblivious to the sound of the train whistle, because it meant nothing to him.
He didn’t move out of the way. Fortunately it was only a glancing blow, but it did result in some minor injuries, a few broken bones, and some bruises, requiring several weeks in the hospital to recover.
Back at his friend’s house after being released from the hospital, he was in the kitchen when the teakettle started whistling. He immediately grabbed a bat from a nearby closet and bashed the teakettle into an unrecognizable lump of metal.
His friend, hearing the ruckus, rushed into the kitchen to find out what was happening. When he saw the lump of metal he asked the prospector, “Why’d you do that to my brand new teakettle?”
The prospector replied with complete sincerity, “Because… you gotta kill them things when they’re small.”