ST. PAUL — With two other turkeys ticketed for a presidential pardon at the White House, their brother met Minnesota’s governor Monday at a state Capitol ceremony featuring much of the same upbeat pageantry ahead of a far gloomier fate for the bird.

Jokingly dubbed “Delicious” by a farmer traveling with the 20-pound gobbler, the unfortunate turkey enjoyed only a brief stay of execution — not a reprieve — during a ceremony laced with gallows humor at Gov. Mark Dayton’s Capitol office.

The next stop for the pink and white bird: a trip to the St. Paul Salvation Army and, eventually, dinner for the less-fortunate. Conversely, his two brothers are headed to the White House Wednesday where they’ll be officially spared.

“I don’t know how long you’d last in my backyard with two German shepherds,” Dayton whispered as he stroked the bird’s feathered back.