One evening, as Uncle John and his wife are entertaining guests with cocktails, they are interrupted by an out-of-breath Freddie who shouts out, “Uncle John! Come quick! The bull is screwing the cow!”

Uncle John, highly embarrassed, takes young Freddie aside and explains that a certain decorum is required. “You should have said, ‘The bull is surprising the cow’ — not some filth you picked up in the City.”

A few days later, Freddie comes in again as his uncle and aunt are entertaining. “Uncle John! The bull is surprising the cows!”

The adults share a knowing grin. Uncle John says, “Thank you Freddie, but surely you meant to say the cow, not cows. A bull cannot ‘surprise’ more than one cow at a time, you know…”

“Yes, he can!” replies his obstinate nephew, “He’s screwing the horse!”