Old Butch

John was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young laying hens, called 'pullets,' and ten roosters to fertilize the eggs.

Any rooster not performing went into the soup pot and was replaced. This took a lot of time, so he bought some tiny bells and attached them to his roosters.

Each bell had a different tone, so he could tell just from listening, which rooster was never performing. John could sit on the porch and log a performance report by just listening to the bells.

John's favorite rooster was old Butch, a very fine specimen, but one morning he noticed old Butch's bell hadn't rung at all! When he went to investigate, he saw the other roosters were busy chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing.

To John's amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it couldn't ring. Butch had learned to not chase the pullets, instead he would just quietly walk up on a pullet, do his job and walk on.

John was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the Saint Lawrence County Fair and he became an overnight sensation with the judges. The judges not only awarded old Butch the "No-Bell Piece-Prize," they also awarded him the "Pulletsurprise" as well.