A small village priest was very fond of the hens he kept in the hen house behind the parish rectory. He had a cock rooster and about a dozen hens.

One Saturday evening, he noticed that the cock rooster was missing. He suspected that cock fights were taking place in the village, so he decided to do something about it at church the following morning.

The next morning at mass, he asked the congregation, "Does anyone have a cock?" All the men stood up.

"Oh no," he said, "that wasn't what I meant. Has anyone seen a cock?" All the women stood up.

"No, that wasn't what I meant," he said. "Has anyone seen a cock that doesn't belong to them?" Half of the women stood up.

"Oh dear," he said, "Has anyone seen my cock?" …Not a single nun remained seated!