Caw, look at that
I woke up early one morning to a scratching sound. It persisted, so I decided to get up and find out where it was coming from.
I live in a modular house in a nicely wooded area in British Columbia, Canada. I’ve watched many animals walk, trot, climb, gallop or waddle across my yard. But I’d never seen what I witnessed that bright spring morning.
The scratching was coming from above me in the kitchen. I looked up to see a crow step on the upper edge of the plastic skylight. The bird did a little sidestep, then slid down the clear plastic. To my amazement, there were two other crows doing the same thing.
They would each go down the “slide”, walk back up and wait their turn. This went on for about five minutes, until one looked down with a sideways glare. They’d seen me watching. They flew off with a single caw.
Daniel Carter, British Columbia, Canada
He’s big, but that cat can boogie
Fats was my large, heavy Siamese cat who spent most of his days snoozing in some cosy spot and letting the world go by. But he liked to dance, too.
Thursday was my dusting day. I hated dusting, so to get myself moving I would play loud, lively music on the stereo. When he heard the music, Fats would come running from wherever he happened to be, inside or out.
He would leap straight up into my arms and lay his head on my shoulder. I would hold his paw as we did our Fred and Ginger numbers.
Eileen Ohrling,North Vancouver, Canada
Four legs good, four wheels better
Pumpkin, our black labrador, is absolutely mad about skateboarding.
She loves it so much that one time, when a young boy and his friend were skating down the road, she ran out and jumped on one boy’s skateboard. Two very surprised skateboarders were left behind as Pumpkin pushed off on the board and went rolling off into the sunset.
We have to keep Pumpkin’s own skateboard hidden in the shed, because as soon as she sees it she starts to bark and whine and won’t leave us alone until she has had a ride. She places two front paws on the board and pushes with her two back legs. She has even made it to having three legs on and pushing with one.
What happens if she crashes? Well, she has taught herself to flip the board back on its wheels, then she’s off again.
A couple of years ago at a school sports day, Pumpkin skated the length of the oval, in front of a cheering crowd of parents and children. She now does it every year.
Artemis Wilkinson, South Yarra, Vic
Knocking their socks off
Garfield is our small ginger-and-white cat who lives in our house above Otaika School in Whangarei.
Every night, he goes down to the school and picks up any socks he finds lying around the playground. He drags them across a field and through two fences.
The following morning we will find two or three socks on our doormat.
In summer, when the schoolchildren don’t wear socks, Garfield visits the local swimming pool in search of other items of clothing. All these he proudly brings home – even pairs of underpants. Once he tried to steal a jumper, but it got stuck in the wire of the fence.
The children are warned that, if they leave things lying around, Garfield will get them. Every few months we have to put his latest collection in a bag and return them to the school, with apologies to the rightful owners.
Jenny Reid, Whangarei, NZ
Stories compiled by Jenny Campbell for the book series Smarter Than Jack © 2005 Avocado Press Limited, Victoria
