A sailor was ordered to clean the chains on the ship's anchor. As he pushed the broom across the anchor, a tern appeared and landed on his head. "Shoo!" shouted the sailor, angrily grabbing the bird and tossing it overboard. A few minutes later, the tern reappeared, and the sailor again threw the annoying bird overboard.
The next morning, the chief petty officer checked out the sailor's work. "What's the big idea?" said the officer. "I told you I wanted those chains spotless!"
"I'm sorry, sir," said the sailor. "I tossed a tern all night, but I couldn't sweep a link."
