Aqua the Pelican: “Okay, okay.  I’ve got a good one for you.”

Gem: “OK. what is it?”

Libby: “This isn’t going to be the old “Why did the Chicken cross the road?”  joke you ALWAYS tell is it?”

Aqua: “Oh er. no, no.no, no. COMPLETELY new and original story this one. Nothing Like that old joke. …..So,  Erm….. Why did the fish cross the lake?”

Eye: “Do you mean “For what purpose” did the fish swim across the lake?”

Aqua: “Yes, exactly.”

Gem: “So, …Let me get this right…..  You’re askin’ “For what purpose” did the fish swim across the lake?”

Libby: “Are we talking about an actual fish, like Pike?”

Aqua (who is already beginning to lose patience now:): “YES, An actual finned, gilled, water-dwelling creature.”

Eye: “So we’re talking Pike – I mean Pisces. Yes?”

Libby: “What?”

Gem:  “You know, Pike the Water sign, the fish.”

Libby: “Oh… yeah, Pike”. 

Eye: “Exactly.”

Aqua: “Alright… So, …”

Eye: “Wait, HOW did Pike swim across?”

Aqua: “What do you mean – How? It’s a fish. Fish swim. That’s what they do!”

Gem: ” Eye means “Was Pike in a hurry, maybe in a competition or just out for a dip,  just exploring?”.       

Aqua groans: ” Pike was swimming slowly”.  

Libby: “OK. But I have another question….How does a fish make a lake cross anyway? A lake doesn’t have feelings, does it? What could a fish do to make it mad?”

Aqua: ” Are you deliberately misunderstanding?”. Libby smirks. 

Gem: “I think Aqua means ” Why does the fish swim from one side of the river  to the other”

Aqua: “YES!”

Eye: “OK. Let;s clarify this…. –Why did the fish SWIM across the lake?”

Aqua: “Yes, that’s it!

Libby: “Ah, now I get it.” Libby smirks again. 

Aqua: “So, I’ll rephrase it…. For what purpose did the fish SWIM from one bank to the other?”

Libby: ” Is that purpose or porpoise? Because, the fish could be swimming to catch up with the porpoise, which is also called a dolphin.”

Aqua, breathes out hard: ” I’ll try again.  Why did the fish SWIM from one bank to the other?”

Gem: “Ah HA! I’ve got it! That makes it TOTALLY clear. To deposit some money!”

Aqua: “WHAT,  no, What? no. I mean why? Why does the fish have money now?”

Eye: “The clue is in the question. The fish was transferring money! It’s obvious. It was going from one Bank to another bank.“

Libby, who was starting to enjoy the confusion: “Maybe the fish was moving money around?”

Aqua: “No, no, no. It’s NOT that sort of Bank. It’s a river bank!”

Gem: “Are you sure? Because it makes sense if the fish was transferring money they would go from one bank to the other.”

Aqua is now worn out: “It was river banks, but I’m not so sure any more.  I think you might have the answer”

Gem: “Oh, you don’t sound very sure. You should have done some research and been sure of the facts before you quizzed us!

Aqua: “I’m not quizzing anyone! It was just a  joke – “Why did the fish swim across the lake?”

Gem: “Ah but to avoid any confusion you should have asked, “What was the reason that a fish called Pisces swam slowly from one side of a river to the other side of the river?”

Aqua: “Exactly!”

Eye: “So what’s the answer?”

Aqua: “To get to the other side!”

Eye: “And is that with or without the money?”

Aqua: “AAAGGGGGHHHH. NO! NO! NO!

Libby: “Well, if you’re going to tell a joke, at least tell it properly. It was better when it was ‘the chicken crossing the road.'”

Gem: “…Ah, but did the chicken have the money?”