During WWII, a shopkeeper in Nazi occupied Belgium, taught his parrot to say "Hitler is Dead"
Every time someone would walk into the shop, the parrot would repeat "Hitler is Dead". It was good for business, and the locals all got a kick out of it.


One day, some Nazi soldiers caught wind of the story. They decided to pay the shopkeeper a visit. Upon entering the shop, sure enough, the parrot said clearly, "Hitler is Dead". The Nazi soldiers got very angry, and sternly spoke with the shopkeeper. "You must stop that parrot from speaking of our Fuhrer in this manner, or else!! We will be back!!"


The shopkeeper knew this was a very serious situation. He thought about his options. Killing the parrot really was not an option, as the soldiers would assume he had simply hid the bird. And, he had grown quite fond of the parrot. He asked a few friends for advice, and one fellow came up with a novel solution.


"The church minister also has a parrot, in his home. Why don't you ask him if you can exchange parrots for a time, at least until the soldiers return?" The shopkeeper thought this was a fantastic idea. He approached the minister, explained his plight, and the minister agreed to exchange parrots. Upon seeing the minister's parrot, he was relieved that the two birds looked very similiar.


A week passed, and suddenly one day, the shop door again flew open. The Nazi soldiers, true to their word, had returned. They guarded the exit, hand on their sidearms, while one soldier strolled over to the shopkeeper. "I zee you still have ze parrot!! You better hope he has now learned to not speak ill of our Fuhrer!!" The shopkeeper softly said "Yes, I believe he has now learned, he is a smart bird." The parrot sat silently on his perch.


The soldiers were clearly not believing the shopkeeper. But, the parrot was quiet the entire time. Finally, in an attempt to get the parrot to speak, one of the soldiers whispered to the bird "Hitler iz dead". The parrot sat silently staring at the soldier. Again, the soldier repeated... "Hitler iz dead".


With that, the parrot finally spoke... "Let us bow our heads, and give thanks"