It had been 2 years since the last good rain, and the ground was parched and dry. His farm was worthless, so Joe had packed up all of his reminaing belongings and was contemplating leaving town. As he walked out of town, he raised his voice in a frustrated prayer. "Its been 2 years, and theres still no sign of rain! Dear Lord, cant you do anything about that?".
Unfortunately, what God heard was "Its been 2 years, and theres still no sign of reindeer. Lord, cant you do anything about that?". God had no idea why anyone would want such a sign, but Joe seemed really upset, so....
The results simply added to Joe's confusion.