The parrot

A fellow I used to work with received a parrot for his birthday.

The parrot was fully grown, with a vulgar, profane vocabulary and an extremely bad attitude. The words that were not downright expletives were, at the least, terribly rude.

My friend was appalled at the demeanor of the bird, and tried hard to change the bird's attitude. He had had birds in the past that he raised into adults, with no problems like this bird had. He consistently and patiently said polite words, played soft music, and did anything he could think of to try and set a good example. Nothing worked.

He ended up yelling at the bird, and the bird yelled back. He shook the bird, and the bird just got more angry and more rude. Finally, in a moment of desperation, the man grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer of his refrigerator. For a few moments, he heard the bird squawk and kick and scream. Then suddenly there was quiet. Not a sound for half a minute. My friend was frightened that he might have hurt the bird, and quickly opened the freezer door.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto my friend's extended arm and said, "I believe I might have offended you in the past with my rude language and actions. I will endeavor from this day forward to correct my behavior. I really am truly sorry, and beg your forgiveness."

My friend was astounded at the bird's abrupt change in attitude, and was about to ask what had made such a dramatic change in his demeanor, when the parrot continued,

"May I ask what the chicken did?"