The Bird that Backfired

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, my friend Kay purchased a nice turkey. She brought it home, unpacked it and slipped it into the refrigerator to defrost.

Some back story is important at this point. I had recently read a funny story about one family’s a turkey dinner.

“Last Thanksgiving, my mom decided to play a trick on my sister. To get her out of the house, she convinced her that we needed more half-and-half for the coffee.

While my sister was out, my mom took the turkey out of the oven, removing the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, then put it inside the turkey, packing stuffing around it. She then put the turkey back in the oven.

When everything was ready, my sister took the turkey out of the oven and began removing the stuffing. When she felt something, she reached in pulled out the Cornish hen.

Pretending to be shocked, my mother exclaimed, ‘Patti, you’ve cooked a pregnant turkey!’

My sister began to cry and was inconsolable. It took us half an hour to convince her that turkeys lay eggs.”

The same evening Kay brought home the turkey, I went to the store a bought a hen. I then sneaked it into the larger bird.

Early Thanksgiving morning, Kay was up before Mary and I putting together that evenings feast. She already had a pumpkin pie in the oven and was putting the finishing touches on the stuffing when I wandered out and into the kitchen to fetch a cup of coffee.

Kay pulled the turkey from the fridge and began stuffing it. I sat there sipping my coffee, trying not to look puzzled as she scooped handful after handful into the bird’s cavity.

“You hungry?” Kay asked.

I nodded that I was.

Smiling, Kay responded, “Great. I’ve got a wonderful surprise for you.”

She then pulled the cooked Cornish game hen from the oven. I knew at that moment, the jig was up.

“Yeah,” she laughed, “I read the same story.”