Under the cover of darkness, a seasoned burglar had smashed a window to gain entry into a house on Elm Street, unaware of what was awaiting him.
Silently, he slipped through the broken window and into the home’s kitchen. The burglar’s eyes quickly adjusted to the dim lighting as he began casing the place, searching for any valuables left in plain sight to snatch up.
As he crept towards the living room, a deep, gravelly voice suddenly pierced the quiet.
“Jesús is watching you.”
The burglar froze, his heart pounding.
He scanned the room, but saw no one.
Swallowing hard, he pressed onward into the hallway. That’s when he heard it again: “Jesús is watching you.”
The hair stood up on the back of his neck. The voice seemed to be coming from somewhere behind him.
Slowly, he turned back towards the living room, and that’s when he spotted it – a parrot cage tucked away in the corner.
“You…” he whispered at the cage. “Was that you talking?”
“Yes,” squawked the parrot. “Jesús is watching you.”
The burglar felt a wave of relief. Just a bird. He let out the breath he’d been holding and regained his composure.
“What’s your name, bird?” he asked the parrot.
“Clarence,” came the reply.
The burglar couldn’t help but snicker.
“Clarence? Who in their right mind names a parrot Clarence?”
The parrot paused before answering plainly:
“The same idiot who named the rottweiler ‘Jesús’.”
That’s when the burglar heard a loud growl directly behind him…
