THE CONJURER AND THE PARROTT

A conjurer obtains employment on a cruise liner, leaving Southampton for New York and thence to the Caribbean. The Captain of the ship, being of a traditional disposition, has a parrot.

During the voyage whenever the conjurer performs, the parrot gives the tricks away with outbursts such as "[squwark!] The rabbit's under the table". The conjurer gets extremely peeved at this, the parrot, needless to say, really enjoys himself. There is obviously no love lost between the two.

Before they get to New York the ship hits an iceburg. As luck would have it the only two survivors are the conjurer and the parrot clinging to the same piece of flotsam. They glare at each other for three days.

Finally the parrot says "All right, I give up. Where's the bloody ship?"