Gnu,

My aunt was cleaning the country place, a small two room structure and as always, she defrosted the fridge and freezer, too. She had left the doors of the fridge and freezer open to hasten the defrost time. She also took that opportunity to have the budgie get in some flight time and make it easier to clean Chirpie's cage. The process of cleaning the place usually took the better part of the afternoon. At about three pm I received a frantic phone call from her. It seems that at about 1:00 pm she'd closed both the refrigerator door and the freezer door. When she couldn't find Chirpie anywhere, she checked the fridge and freezer. He was in the freezer, on his back, his legs straight up, frozen solid. She asked me if there was anything she could do. I thought for a few seconds and suggested she turn on the oven and put Chirpie near the stove to thaw. Meanwhile, I told her to go get my uncle's can of lighter fluid. She did. As Chirpie began to warm up, I then said she should give each of his nostrils (nares) a few squirts, which she did. He literally took off, flying all over the kitchen and livingroom/bedroom. Alas, he flew for about 1 1/2 minutes but then fell from the air to the floor and lay still. I felt bad for her because she kinda doted on the budgie. In a soft voice I asked, "Dead?"