One day there was a man who was walking through the forest and
got lost. He wandered around for over a week, and was beginning
to starve. He spotted a Bald Eagle who had just caught a fish
and chased it, hoping to get it to drop the fish so he could eat
it. Then he saw the bird land on a tree stump not far from him,
so he picked up a stone to toss at it–hoping the bird would be
frightened and fly away WITHOUT the fish. But, weak as he was,
his aim was off and he hit the poor bird square on the head and
killed it! “Well,” he thought to himself, “no sense letting it
go to waste, if I leave it here it will just rot, and it could
save my life if I eat it.” So, he built himself a little
fire–using a couple of stones–and cooked the eagle to eat.
While it was cooking a ranger stumbled upon the man, and when he
saw what he was up to, he immediately arrested him–because as
you know, that is quite illegal! The man told the ranger what
had happened, and asked for a trial so he could explain the
situation to a judge.
So, the day of his trial he told the judge, “Please Your Honor,
it was a life or death situation! I was lost and starving, and I
didn’t mean to harm the bird–I only wanted the fish! And when I
accidentally killed it, well, I felt terrible but couldn’t see
any reason to let it go to waste!”
The judge listened to the man’s story and deemed him, “Not
guilty, on the grounds of extenuating circumstances.”
The man was very grateful, and thanked the judge for his
fairness. Then, the judge leaned over and quietly asked the man,
“Just between you and me, what DOES a Bald Eagle taste like
anyway??”
The man comtemplated this for a moment and then spoke, “Well,
it’s kind of hard to explain… but, I would say somewhere
between a California Condor and a Spotted Owl.”