The other night I was invited out for a night with the boys. I told my wife that I would be home by midnight, "I promise".
Well, the hours passed and the beers went down way too easily. Around 3 a.m. a bit loaded, I headed for home. Just as I got in the door, the cuckoo clock in the hallway started up and cuckood 3 times. Quickly, realizing my wife would probably wake up, I cuckood another 9 times. I was really proud of myself for coming up with such a quick-witted solution, in order to escape a possible conflict with her. (Even when totally smashed, 3 cuckoos plus 9 cuckoos totals = 12 cuckoos MIDNIGHT!)
The next morning my wife asked me what time I got in, I told her 'Midnight'... she didn't seem ticked off in the least. Whew, I got away with that one!
Then she said we need a new cuckoo clock.
When I asked her why, she said, " Well, last night our clock cuckood three times, then said 'oh crap.' It cuckood 4 more times, cleared its throat, cuckood another three times, giggled, cuckood twice more, and then tripped over the coffee table and farted.