As the season is going into overdrive, Christmas Caroling is heard all over. Even Chet the Parrot contributes eagerly.
Chet the Parrot
Got this one in an email from Jeannie and simply had to share it with you since it almost made me choke me in my afternoon cup of java.
One Christmas Eve, a frenzied young man ran into a pet shop looking for an unusual Christmas gift for his wife. The shop owner suggested a parrot, named Chet, which could sing famous Christmas carols. This seemed like the perfect gift.
“How do I get him to sing?” The young man asked, excitedly. “Simply hold a lighted match directly under his feet,” was the shop owner’s reply as he held a lighted match under the parrot’s left foot. Chet began to sing: “Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! …”
The shop owner then held another match under the parrot’s right foot. Then Chet’s tune changed, and the air was filled with: ” Silent Night, Holy Night…
“ The young man was very impressed and happy with this gift for his wife, that he paid the shop-keeper and raced home as quickly as he could with Chet-the Parrot under his arm. When his wife saw her gift she was instantly excited.
“How beautiful!” She exclaimed, “Can he talk?” “No,” the young man replied, “But he can sing. Let me show you.” So the young man whipped out his lighter and placed it under Chet’s left foot, as the shop-keeper had shown him, and Chet crooned: “Jingle Bells! Jingle bells!…”
He then moved the lighter to Chet’s right foot, and out came: “Silent Night, Holy night…
“ The wife, her face filled with curiosity and anticipation, then asked, “What if we hold the lighter between his legs?” The man shrugged as he did not know. “Let’s try it,” he answered, eager to please his wife. So he held the lighter between Chet’s spindly legs.
And as Chet twisted his face and cleared his throat, the little courageous parrot sang out loudly as if it were the performance of a lifetime: “Chet’s nuts roasting on an open fire….”
