A chief petty officer caught an AWOL sailor as he tried to sneak aboard ship.

Upon hearing the sailor's lame explanation, the petty officer

told him, "Sweep every link on this anchor chain by morning, or it's the brig for you!"

The sailor picked up a broom, but before he could

sweep, a tern landed on the handle.

The lad picked the tern off and tossed it overboard. The bird lit again on the broom handle, and was again tossed away. On and on, through the night, they went through the same routine.

In the morning, when the chief petty officer inspected, he

found the chain still dirty. "What have you been doing all night?" he asked angrily.

"Honest, chief," came the reply,

"I tossed a tern all night and couldn't sweep a link!"

Edited October 24, 200520 yr by Boon Mee