talking horse (maybe it was a donkey in honor of attempted filibuster)

[sundancekid]

They say the following was King Henry VIII's favourite joke:

A condemned man petitions the King by stating: "Your majesty - if you spare my life for a year I will teach your horse to talk."

The King, anxious to converse with his horse, granted the request. As the prisoner was being led out of court one of the jailers (or gaolers) asked him if he was mad.

"Not at all," replied the man. "Within a year I might die, the King might die - or the horse might talk."