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zdashamberAw, there's a cricket out there! I haven't heard crickets in a long, long time. I don't think they live in California much. Such a cheerful warm late evening noise. (Until they're in your basement. Then: Release the Gerbils!)
Back when we were young, we had gerbils. They're great little creatures: sturdy, calm, and cute. Ours were George and Sparky... George turned out to be female, so there were little baby gerbils, too. Anyway, one day I caught a cricket in the basement, and I thought, "Ah! I'll put it in George and Sparky's cage, and they'll have music and other life forms to entertain them!"
Open cage, insert cricket, close cage. A moment's pause. From the mess of cartons and kleenex in which they'd formed a cozy little nest, George's head pops up. Sniff sniff, sniffsniffsniff. The cricket eases backwards with one tiiiiny little foot. George leaps! She falls upon the cricket and devours half of it in a single blow! Then she carries the rest in a mouthful back into the nest.
I was somewhat taken aback. These gerbils had never had access to any food that wasn't vegetable; I hadn't any indication they were omnivores. The terrible accuracy of the avenging gerbil carried a different thought to my mind... Also, that wasn't really the use I'd had in mind for the cricket.
On the other hand, the giver doesn't get to dictate the gift's application; and she really did seem to enjoy it. I felt a bit guilty that Sparky might not have gotten any. Fortunately, it turned out later that all we had to do was not wall off the corners of the basement when we let the gerbils out into pens, and they'd clean up all the centipedes and other arthropods, living or dead, with great relish.
Back when we were young, we had gerbils. They're great little creatures: sturdy, calm, and cute. Ours were George and Sparky... George turned out to be female, so there were little baby gerbils, too. Anyway, one day I caught a cricket in the basement, and I thought, "Ah! I'll put it in George and Sparky's cage, and they'll have music and other life forms to entertain them!"
Open cage, insert cricket, close cage. A moment's pause. From the mess of cartons and kleenex in which they'd formed a cozy little nest, George's head pops up. Sniff sniff, sniffsniffsniff. The cricket eases backwards with one tiiiiny little foot. George leaps! She falls upon the cricket and devours half of it in a single blow! Then she carries the rest in a mouthful back into the nest.
I was somewhat taken aback. These gerbils had never had access to any food that wasn't vegetable; I hadn't any indication they were omnivores. The terrible accuracy of the avenging gerbil carried a different thought to my mind... Also, that wasn't really the use I'd had in mind for the cricket.
On the other hand, the giver doesn't get to dictate the gift's application; and she really did seem to enjoy it. I felt a bit guilty that Sparky might not have gotten any. Fortunately, it turned out later that all we had to do was not wall off the corners of the basement when we let the gerbils out into pens, and they'd clean up all the centipedes and other arthropods, living or dead, with great relish.