three parrots in a pet shop

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A man walks into a petshop A SHOP THAT SELLS PETS and says to the owner, "I'd like a talking parrot A COLOURFUL BIRD THAT CAN MIMIC HUMAN SPEECH ."

The shop owner replies, "Ah, I've got just the thing!" He brings out three parrots, perched side by side SITTING CLOSE TO EACH OTHER ON A BAR .

The first parrot is priced at €460. The man asks, "Why is it so expensive COSTING A LOT OF MONEY ?"

The owner explains, "This parrot knows how to use a computer, manage spreadsheets TABLES FOR DATA, USUALLY IN EXCEL , and type WRITE USING A KEYBOARD 80 words per minute."

Impressed, the man asks about the second parrot, which costs €920. The owner says, "This one can do everything the first can, plus it can code in Python WRITE PROGRAMMES USING A CODING LANGUAGE , build websites, and troubleshoot IT problems FIND AND REPAIR COMPUTER ISSUES ."

Even more intrigued, the man asks about the third parrot, which is sitting quietly WITHOUT MAKING ANY NOISE and costs €2,300. He asks, "What does this one do?"

The owner shrugs LIFTS SHOULDERS TO SHOW 'I DON'T KNOW' and says, "To be honest, I've never seen him do anything. But the other two call him Boss."

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🔍 Vocabulary

In this joke, let's look at these: perched, troubleshoot, and shrug. To perch means to sit or rest on something narrow. To troubleshoot means to find and fix problems, especially technical ones. To shrug means to lift your shoulders to show you don’t know or don’t care.

• The bird was perched on the windowsill.
• I had to troubleshoot the Wi-Fi connection before the meeting.
• She just shrugged when I asked her where my phone was.

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📘 Grammar

This joke uses the present simple for storytelling and direct speech to show exactly what the characters say. The present simple describes routines, habits, or facts. It’s common in jokes and anecdotes to make the story feel more immediate and lively.

• A man walks into a bar.
• She says, “I want to leave.”
• He asks, “How much is that doggy in the window?”

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💬 Mini Dialogue

Alex: The IT guy came in, perched on my desk, and said, “Let’s troubleshoot.”
Sam: And did he fix it?
Alex: No. He shrugged and left. Classic.

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🔄 Synonyms & Alternatives

Perch: sit, roost, balance
Troubleshoot: fix, debug, resolve
Shrug: lift shoulders, gesture indifference, shrug off

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