A
guy walks into a pet shop and asks if he can buy a Canary. The
proprietor replies "I'm sorry, we've sold out. You'll find a
Canary in town. I do have a Parakeet though." The guy insists
he wants a Canary, so the shop keeper tells him that a Parakeet
can be made to sound just like a Canary if you file the beak
down.
"But", he warns," you have to be careful not to file too much
off, or the bird will drown when taking a drink of water'. The
guy decides he'll give it a go and purchases the Parakeet.
On his way home he stops at a hardware store and enquires about
a suitable file to do the job. The assistant realises straight-away
and offers him a Simmons no 3, rough-edged file.
"Be careful not to file too much off or the poor fellow will
drown!", the shop keeper advises.
A few days later the guy walks into the hardware store again.
The owner, recognising him, asks how it went with the Parakeet.
The guy looks down and sadly reports "the birds dead", the store
keeper looks sympathetic and asks "did you file off too much
beak?". The guy shakes his head and says "nope. He was just
dead when I took him out of the vice!".
