My brother, Ken, sent this oldie, but it’s definitely worth another turn, especially now…

John, the farmer, was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young layers (hens), called “pullets”, and ten roosters whose job it was to fertilize the eggs.

The farmer kept meticulous records and any rooster that didn’t perform went into the soup pot and was replaced. That took an awful lot of his time, so he bought a set of tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell had a different tone so John could tell from a distance which roosters were working. He could sit on the porch and fill out efficiency reports simply by listening to the bells.

The farmer’s favorite rooster was old Butch and a very fine specimen he was, too. But on this particular morning, John noticed old Butch’s bell hadn’t rung at all! John went to investigate. The other roosters were chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing. The pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover.

But to Farmer John’s amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak so it couldn’t ring! He’d sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one. John was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the Renfrew County Fair where the old rooster became an overnight sensation among the judges. As a result, the judges not only awarded him the “No Bell Piece Prize” but the “Pulletsurprise” as well!

Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making. Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on the planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them when they weren’t paying attention!

The story offers some valuable advise: Vote carefully this year. The bells are not always audible.