Timothy, the farmer, was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young hens, which are also called pullets, and ten roosters whose job it was to fertilize the pullets' eggs.
Difficult as it was, Timothy kept exacting records – and any rooster that didn't do his daily duties was doomed to the soup pot.
This took a great deal of his time, so to make things easier he bought a set of tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell made a different sound, so Timothy could simply tell from a distance which rooster was performing his duties. Now he could sit on his front porch and fill out a report simply by listening to the bells.
Timothy's very favorite rooster was Old John, an aged but lauded specimen. However, on this particular morning Timothy noticed that Old John’s bell had not rung even once! So Timothy went to investigate. The other roosters were chasing pullets all over the place with bells-a-ringing. And the pullets upon hearing the bells (having learned what was about to happen to them), would run for cover.
But to Farmer Timothy's amazement, Old John held the bell in his beak, so it couldn't ring nary a tinkle. Old John would sneak up on a pullet, do his duties and then skulk on over to the next unsuspecting pullet.
Timothy was so proud of Old John, he decided to enter him in the Calaveras County Fair – and lo and behold, he became an overnight favorite among ALL the judges.
The final outcome? Well, the judges not only decided to award Old John the "No Bell Piece Prize", but they also elected to give him the "Pullet-Surprise Award" as well.
There is just no doubt about it – Old John was a politician at heart.
Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted laurels in the country by keeping the truth silent and being the best at sneaking up on the populace, screwing them when they least expected it and then being rewarded for doing so?
The Moral: Vote very carefully this year. Timothy et al are clearly going to help their favorites, and the bells are not always going to be audible.
(Concept shamelessly pilfered ... but just too good NOT to share:)
http://gopnot4me.blogspot.com/2008/05/old-butch-fable-for-our-time.html#links