The Parakeet's Disguise

A blonde walked into the paint section of the hardware store and says to the assistant, "I'd like a pint of canary-yellow paint."

"Certainly," says the clerk. "Mind if I ask why you need it?"

"My parakeet," says the blonde. "I want to enter him in a canary contest. He sings so sweetly that I know he's sure to win."

"Well, you can't do that!" the assistant says. "The chemicals in the paint will almost certainly kill the poor thing!"

"No, they won't."

"Listen, I'll bet you ten bucks your parakeet dies if you try to paint him."

"You're on!" the blonde says.

Two days later the blonde comes back looking very sheepish and puts ten bucks on the counter in front of the clerk.

"So the paint killed your bird?"

"Indirectly," the blonde sighs. "He seemed to handle the paint okay, but he didn't survive the sanding between coats."