The Bird Cage
There once was a Mormon Bishop, who lived in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to church carrying a rusty, bent old bird cage and set it down by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised, and as if in response, the Bishop began to speak.
"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming towards me, swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, 'What you got there son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em. I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."
"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do with them?"
Huh??? Why you don't want those birds mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing, they ain't even pretty!
"Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I'll give 'em to them."
The bishop was silent a moment.
"How much do you want for those birds son?"
"Huh??? Why you don't want those birds mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing, they ain't even pretty!"
"How much?"
The boy sized up the Bishop as if he were crazy and said, "Ten dollars?"
The Bishop reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.
The Bishop picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley, where there was a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.
Well that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the Bishop began to tell this story.
"One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting.
"Yes sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait a knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all."
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry & divorce each other. How to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. Real fun!"
"And what will you do with them when you grow tired of that?"
"Oh, kill 'em. Damn 'em."
How much do you want for them?"
"Oh, you don't want these people. They ain't no good. Why, you take them, and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, and curse you and kill you! You don't want those people!"
"How much?"
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your tears, and all your blood."
Jesus paid the price. He picked up the cage. He opened the door.