The day before Easter, a man named George Thomas was taking a walk when he saw a boy coming toward him swinging an old rusty birdcage. He stopped the boy and asked what was in the cage.

"Just three old birds,' the boy said. "I'm going to take them home and have some fun--tease them and pull out their feathers to make them fight."

"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later," Thomas said. "What will you do with them then?"

"Oh, I have some cats," said the boy. "They like birds. I'll feed them to my cats."

Thomas was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"

"What?" the boy said in disbelief. "You don't want them, mister. They're just plain field birds. They don't sing and they aren't even pretty."

"How much?" Thomas asked again. The boy sized up Thomas as if he were crazy and said, "$10."

Thomas reached into his pocket, took out a $10 bill, put it in the boy's hand, and took the birdcage. In a flash, the boy was gone.

Thomas carried the cage to a grassy spot where there was a tree. Then he opened the door and set the birds free.

"You don't want them, mister. They're just plain field birds. They don't sing and they aren't even pretty."

The next morning--Easter Day--Thomas showed the now empty cage to a group of friends and told them about the boy and the birds. Then he told the following allegory:

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation.

"Yes, sir," Satan gloated. "I just caught a whole world full of people! I set a trap and got them all!"

"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.

"I'm going to have some fun!" Satan replied with glee. "I'm going to teach them how to lie and cheat and steal and kill. This is going to be great!"

"And what will you do when you're through with them?" Jesus asked.

"Then I'll kill them," Satan said proudly.

"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.

"Oh, you don't want those people! They aren't any good. They'll just hate you. They'll cause you nothing but misery and heartbreak, and they'll kill you in the end. You don't want those people!"

"How much?" Jesus asked again.

Satan looked at Him and sneered. "Your LIFE!"

"DONE!"

Then Jesus paid the price.

--Author Unknown