Jimmy received a parrot for his birthday. The parrot was fully grown, with a
very bad attitude and worse vocabulary.
Every other word was an expletive; those that weren't expletives were, to say
the least, rude.
Jimmy tried to change the bird's attitude by constantly saying polite words,
playing soft music... anything he could think of.
Nothing worked.
He yelled at the bird, and the bird got worse. He shook the bird, and the bird
got madder and more rude. Finally, in a moment
of desperation, Jimmy put the parrot in the freezer. For a few moments he heard
the bird swearing, squawking, kicking and
screaming and then, suddenly, there was absolute quiet.
Jimmy was frightened that he might have actually hurt the bird, and quickly
opened the freezer door. The parrot calmly stepped
out onto Jimmy's extended arm and said, "I'm sorry that I offended you with my
language and my actions, and I ask your forgiveness.
I will endeavor to correct my behavior".
Jimmy was astounded at the changes in the bird's attitude and was about to ask
what had changed him, when the parrot continued,