A guy goes to a pet store and buys a parrot. The pet store owner tells him, "This parrot is very smart. It can learn any word or phrase."
Excited, the guy takes the parrot home and starts teaching it words. He tries and tries, but the parrot doesn't say a single word. Frustrated, he goes back to the pet store and tells the owner, "This parrot hasn't said a single word! You said it was very smart."
The owner replies, "Did you try teaching it in front of a mirror? Sometimes parrots need a visual aid."
So, the guy goes home, sets up a mirror, and spends hours trying to teach the parrot. Still, nothing.
Fed up, he goes back to the pet store one last time and says, "I want my money back. This parrot hasn't said a word!"
The owner, puzzled, asks, "Have you tried teaching it at different times of the day? Maybe it's a morning bird."
The guy goes home, tries morning, noon, and night, but the parrot stays silent. Finally, after a week of effort, the parrot suddenly starts talking.
The parrot says, "You know, I’ve been pretending to be mute this whole time. I just wanted to see how long it would take you to give up."
The guy, shocked, asks, "Why would you do that?"
The parrot replies, "Because it's funnier this way. Oh, and by the way, you should see your face right now!"