Jacques Chirac, the French President, is sitting in his office when his telephone rings. "Hallo, Mr. Chirac!" a heavily accented voice said. "This is Paddy down at the Harp Pub in County Mayo, Ireland. I am ringing you to inform you that we are officially declaring war on you and your country."
"Well, Paddy," Chirac replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army?"
"Right now," says Paddy, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, me Cousin Sean, me next-door neighbor Seamus, and the entire darts team from the pub. That makes eight!"
Chirac paused, "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100,000 men in my army, waiting to move on my command."
"Begoora!" says Paddy, "I'll have to ring you back."
Sure enough, the next day, Paddy calls again, "Mr. Chirac, the war is still on. We have managed to get us some infantry equipment!"
"And what equipment would that be, Paddy?" Chirac asks. "Well, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm tractor."
Chirac sighs, amused, "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 6,000 tanks and 5,000 armored personnel carriers. Also, I have increased my army to 150,000 since we last spoke."
"Saints preserve us!" says Paddy, "I'll have to get back to you."
Sure enough, Paddy rings again the next day. "Mr. Chirac, the war's still on! We've managed to get ourselves airborne. We've modified Jackie McLaughlin's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys fro m the Shamrock Bar have joined us, as well!"
Chirac was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100 bombers and 200 fighter planes. My military bases are surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I have increased my army to 200,000!"
"Oh, my!" says Paddy, "I'll have to ring you back."
Sure enough, Paddy calls again the n ext day. "Top o' the mornin', Mr. Chirac, I'm sorry to inform you that we've had to call off the war."
"Really? I'm sorry to hear that," says Chirac. "Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Well," says Paddy, "We had a long chat over a few pints of Guinness, and decided there's no way we can feed 200,000 prisoners!
"Well, Paddy," Chirac replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army?"
"Right now," says Paddy, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, me Cousin Sean, me next-door neighbor Seamus, and the entire darts team from the pub. That makes eight!"
Chirac paused, "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100,000 men in my army, waiting to move on my command."
"Begoora!" says Paddy, "I'll have to ring you back."
Sure enough, the next day, Paddy calls again, "Mr. Chirac, the war is still on. We have managed to get us some infantry equipment!"
"And what equipment would that be, Paddy?" Chirac asks. "Well, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm tractor."
Chirac sighs, amused, "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 6,000 tanks and 5,000 armored personnel carriers. Also, I have increased my army to 150,000 since we last spoke."
"Saints preserve us!" says Paddy, "I'll have to get back to you."
Sure enough, Paddy rings again the next day. "Mr. Chirac, the war's still on! We've managed to get ourselves airborne. We've modified Jackie McLaughlin's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys fro m the Shamrock Bar have joined us, as well!"
Chirac was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100 bombers and 200 fighter planes. My military bases are surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I have increased my army to 200,000!"
"Oh, my!" says Paddy, "I'll have to ring you back."
Sure enough, Paddy calls again the n ext day. "Top o' the mornin', Mr. Chirac, I'm sorry to inform you that we've had to call off the war."
"Really? I'm sorry to hear that," says Chirac. "Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Well," says Paddy, "We had a long chat over a few pints of Guinness, and decided there's no way we can feed 200,000 prisoners!
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