"Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies" (Dell) #42, April 1945: "Minnie the Minah Bird"

Here's a weird little tale from "Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies" (Dell) #42, April 1945. Porky Pig buys the Minah Bird (from the "Inki and the Minah Bird" cartoons) from a con artist who convinces him that it can talk. He then attempts to show Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd his talented new pet, and quickly learns that the seller was a ventriloquist and the bird doesn't actually talk. Or DOES it? As it turns out, the bird's name is Minnie, and she can, indeed, talk...but never when money is involved. Though Minnie trusts Porky, the pig eventually goofs and makes a bet...and he loses her trust forever.

Though Porky is not driven to ruin by his mistake or punished for any greedy intentions, the concept is similar to Chuck Jones' classic cartoon "One Froggy Evening" released ten years later.