There were three McAllister brothers. They were very competitive with one another. Each one was very successful in business and loved their mother very much.

The elderly Mrs. McAllister had just celebrated her 80th birthday.

The brothers got to talking.

Herman, the oldest brother, said to his siblings, “I bought Mom a mansion for her birthday. It’s in the finest neighborhood, with a pool, sauna, and dream kitchen. It cost one million dollars!”

The middle brother, Jerry said, “I bought Mom a Mercedes Benz limo AND a chauffeur to go with it. The car itself was a special edition that cost a million dollars, plus  I hired a chauffeur who was a driver to the Queen of England. His salary set me back one million for the first year alone!”

Sam, the youngest said to his brothers, “I outdid you all. I bought a rare South African talking parrot. I hired a linguist to teach the bird the entire Bible. It took ten years, so I’ve been planning this for quite a while. We all know how much Mom loves scripture, so what better way to spend 5 million dollars of my hard-earned money?”

What was unusual about the gift exchange was that none of the three brothers received so much as a thank-you. When they were all together with their mother, they anxiously asked if she was happy with her birthday presents.

“Herman, you bought me a house big enough for an army. I could never find my way around it. I hate the location, and how in the world would I clean 15 bathrooms? I’ll never move into that monstrosity.

And Jerry, that gas-guzzling boat of a car you sent me is ridiculous. I love my Buick. I will never, ever set foot in it, no matter how much the mechanic who came with it tries to persuade me.

These are two impractical gifts that I never wanted and will never use.

Now Sammy, on the other hand, sent me the best gift of all. Thank you, Sam, the chicken was delicious.”