Difference between revisions of "Steeplekeeper Joke"

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Stone the Bell Ringer
 
 
And it came to pass, when Paul was at Corinth, he and certain disciples came upon a mob that was stoning a
 
bell ringer.  And Paul said unto them, What then hath he done unto thee that his head should be bruised.  And
 
the people cried with one voice, “He hath rung too loud and too long and his changes lack melody.  Yea, he
 
maketh our heads to ring as if they were beaten with hammers.  Behold, he standeth up high in the tower, and
 
mighty are the bells and mighty is the noise thereof, and though there be few of us below, he nonetheless doth
 
continue to ring, peal after peal, and we cannot hear the words that cometh out of our mouths.  His rhythms vary
 
from row to row and produce no recognizable tunes.  He joineth with his cohorts and they stand in an evil
 
circle, ringing their harsh methods and sequences.  He doth confound the musical harmony of the spirit and his
 
changes have not the sweetness of a carillon, for they confuse us mightily. Lo, he is a plague upon the faith and
 
should be chastised.” Paul, hearing this, had himself picked up a small stone, and was about to cast it, but he set
 
it down, and bade the bell ringer to come forward.  He was a narrow man, pale of complexion, dry, flaking, thin
 
of hair.  And Paul said unto him, “Why hath thou so abused thy brethren?  And the bell ringer replied, “They
 
mumble their prayers, and do not lift their voices in praise, so I felt called to ring with fervor to enliven their
 
faith.”  And Paul turned round to the mob and said loudly, “Do not begrudge the bell ringer his enthusiasm, for
 
he at least is willing to proclaim with boldness the joy that he doth possess in his heart.”  And the mob did then
 
stone both Paul and the bell ringer, who finally repented, and for forty days did play the flute in order to cleanse
 
his spirit.
 
 
Gathered by the Very Rev’d Douglas Wm. McCaleb, Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Miami, from ancient sources and texts.
 
 
  
  

Latest revision as of 14:07, 11 December 2008


A steeple keeper was checking the tenor when somebody started to ring it up. The bell hit the steeple keeper right between the eyes "bong" then it hit him on the chin, "bong" then it hit him on the nose "bong" and again it hit him this time on the forehead "bong" and knocked him clean out of the tower into the ringing chamber at the feet of the tower captain. The tower captain says "I don't know who this is...

...but his face rings a bell".