THREE BIRDS ON A WIRE

A teacher was helping her third-grade students with a math problem. 

After choosing a student in particular, she recited the following

story:

 "Hmmm! Billy, there are three birds sitting on a telephone wire. A man

with a gun shoots one of the birds. How many birds are left on

the wire?"

 The boy pauses. "Aha ! None," he replied thoughtfully.

 "Oh dear! No, no, no. Let's try again, maybe you didn't hear me correctly,"

the teacher says patiently. She holds up three fingers.

"There are three birds sitting on a wire.  A man with a gun shoots one," she puts down one finger, "How many birds are left on the wire?" 

"Uh-oh! None," the boy says with authority.

The teacher sighs.  "Hey! Tell me how you came up with that."  

"Hmm, It's simple," says the boy, "after the man shot one bird, the noise from the gun scared the other two away."  

"Well," she says, "Ha-ha! that's not technically correct, but I like the way you think."

"Thanks," chimes the boy, "Now let me ask you a question."    "Okay," she said guardedly. 

"If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in the other hand, what would you have?" he asked innocently.

The teacher looked at the boy's angelic face and writhed in agony,turning three shades of red.   

"Well, uh," she gulped and in a barely audible whisper replied,"Bingo! Of course I have many fruits."

 "No!" he says with surprise, "the answer is you have a very large hands, but I like the way you think."

THE END