Joe received a parrot for his birthday. This parrot was fully grown with a bad attitude and worse vocabulary. Every other word was an expletive. Those that weren't expletives were, to say the least, rude.
Joe tried hard to change the bird's attitude and was constantly saying polite words, playing soft music, anything he could think of to try and set a good example... Nothing worked. He yelled at the bird and the bird got worse. He shook the bird and the bird got more angry and more rude.
Finally, in a moment of desperation, Joe put the parrot in the freezer. For a few moments he heard the bird squawking and kicking and screaming--then suddenly there was quiet. Joe was frightened that he might have actually hurt the bird and quickly opened the freezer door.
The parrot calmly stepped out onto Joe's extended arm and said: "I'm sorry that I might have offended you with my language and actions and ask for your forgiveness. I will endeavor to correct my behavior."
Joe was astounded at the bird's change in attitude, and was just about to ask what had made such a drastic change, when the parrot continued: "May I ask what the chicken did?"
Submitted by reader D.B.