Yesterday, one of my students related a story from her childhood. Her grandfather had taken her rowing on a lake. As they were rowing, he suddenly stopped. In the water, he saw a very rare beetle, struggling to survive. Being a keen insect enthusiast, he carefully fished it out of the water, and then rowed back to the lakeside.
Gently, he placed the beetle on a rock so that it could dry in the warmth of the sun. He was so excited & happy that he could rescue this rare specimen, and he was eager to take a photo of it. Grabbing his camera, he looked in the viewfinder...but could no longer see the beetle! Where was it? Had it crawled or flown away? He stepped back to take a look, and heard a soft crunch under the sole of his shoe... :-(
It reminded me of a famous story, about a news report on ITN News at Ten. At the end of the news, they usually liked to end with a happy, funny, or uplifting story. Reginald Bosanquet, the newsreader, told a story about an old lady whose cat had got stuck up a tree. She rang the army (as the fire brigade were on strike!) to come & rescue the cat, which they duly did. She was so grateful that she invited them all in for a cup of tea & a piece of cake. When they left, they reversed the truck...and in the process ran over the cat! Mr Bosanquet couldn't contain himself, and got a lot of criticism from cat lovers for sniggering after reading the story!
And finally (as the newsreader would say!), I'm reminded of another story which my wife's doctor told her a few years ago. She knew someone who had bought a very expensive chihuahua, a very small dog. After the purchase, she & her husband were driving home and they needed to put some petrol in the car. While the husband was filling the car, the wife took the dog for a walk on the piece of nearby grass, off the lead... Suddenly, a bird of prey (probably a goshawk) swooped down & carried off the dog!!! Their very expensive pet disappeared into the heavens, never to be seen again...
Isn't life strange? :-)
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