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. The shop owner held a match under
Chet’s left foot and 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 so impressed that
he paid the shopkeeper and ran home as quickly as he could with Chet
under his arm. When the wife saw her gift she was overwhelmed. “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 shopkeeper had shown him, and Chet crooned “Jingle Bells! Jingle
Bells!….”
The man then moved the lighter to Chet’s right foot, and out came:
“Silent Night. Holy Night…”
The wife, her face filled with curiosity, then asked, “What if we hold
the lighter between his legs?” The man did not know. “Let’s try it.” He
answered, eager to please his wife. So they held the lighter between
Chet’s legs. Chet twisted his face, cleared his throat, the little
parrot sang out loudly (like it was the performance of his life):
“Chet’s nuts roasting on an open fire….”