Originally posited by a now pregnant(?) zoobyshoe2
A recent perusal of the famous "Whinings" of the ancient Roman thinker and life commentator, Scabius Cankerous, brought this particularly thoughtful story to my attention:
"This morning I was awaken at sunrise by the sounds of some Phoenecian sailors playing upon the lyre and tambour and singing wistfully in their own tongue as they passed by outside my window. Perhaps the song expressed a longing to return to their homeland, or perhaps to the women waiting for them there, or perhaps just to be back on their great ships bound for some new, wonderful port. These, at least, were the ponderings about their song that passed through my mind as I rose up from my litter and flung the contents of my chamber pot out the window on them for waking a sick man from his slumber."
Now enlighten me if I missed something, but I found the story to be extremely confusing given that the ancient Romans are famous to this day for their celebrated indoor plumbing.
Well tie down my dogs and give me a shot of Canadian Club, Consider yourself
enlightened by this one, A chamber pot
IS considered
indoor Plumbing for people whose only other idea of
Plumbing were "Lead W(h)ineglasses!
So I was out walking in the woods, one cold and frosty afternoon, accompanioned by my neighbours dog Sheba. A fresh snow had fallen, the day earlier, covering the ground in white, to a depth of about six inches, that crunched underfoot.
Suddenly I heard a cry, "Whaaaaaa" was the sound, just like a Babies cry, and I listened for it again as I noticed the dogs ears perking up at the noise. It resounded again, and I could tell that, although it sounded just like a human baby, the noise had a quality about it that distincted it from human, and I knew then that it was not of human origin.
Quickly I instructed the dog, Sheba, "Go see" I said to her, and off she went scurrieing into the forest that was a thickset grouping of low cedars growing in a eutriphieing swamp like wetland. I followed her pawprints as she was quite capable of travel in these woods, wheras I was somewhat hindered by my size and inablity to scent out the source of the wailing.
Suddenly I came upon it, the dog standing duty off to the side, there it was, a Snow White Rabbit, caught in a snare wire, its leg wrapped around the securing line that tied the wire to the brush, and the other end of it snared around the rabbits throat, choking the air out of it.
I could easily hear the rabbit's raspng breaths, and could see that, every time it struggled against the wire, it's hind leg would tighten the line, as to choke it, even tighter, generating a further "Rasping and Gargling" sound from the rabbit's frantic breathing.
With the dog watching, I attempted to remove whatever of the wire that I could, but was impaired by the tangled lines around the animals foot, so I shifted attention to the line at the leg and decided to remove the wire from it's brush securing point, as to be able to further manipulate it. Getting the wire off of the Brush was simple enough, but as soon as I had accomplished that, the rabbit bolted, off into the deeper woods, well out of view, and me there, with the setting sun, and darkness, quickly approaching this mountain wetland habitat.
Once again, I sent faithful Sheba after the Rabbit, after all, she too seemed to sense the peril that the frightened animal was in, and that this was something that she did not want to seem to hurt as she once agian, upon finding the critter, held her distance till I got there.
The Rabbit was on it's side, panting and gasping for air with it's leg jerking the wire tighter and choking it more and more. I moved quickly again to this time remove the line from the Rabbits foot. That done, this time I wasn't about to let go of the animal, and I suspect it knew it too.
Gently I picked up the rabbit by placing both of my hands around it's body, and used one hand to search out the line of heavy brass wire that was around it's throat. too thick was the line, and so tight that there was no way I was going to be able to remove it, without harming the animal, or by using tools that just weren't available to me, at this site in the woods.
With the darkness quickly arriving, I decided to take the rabbit back to the house, as to find a pair of cutters, to release it from it potential death. Holding it, as to allow it's body to drop down from my clasped hands around it's chest position, I began the carry of a lifetime, holding a live wild creature in my two hands, attempting rescue.
On the way I could feel that animals heartbeat, as I stroked the back of it's head, 'tween it's ears to attempt to calm it down while I made the half hour walk home. Sheba was her perfectly poised self, not even bothering me about the fact that I was carrieing a live Rabbit, she just went about her business, of sniffing things, and walking along with me, as if this were the most normal of things to be doing. She was used to me, and my long walks so it was kinda normal for her now.
On the way, the rabbit very suddenly decided to attempt a break for freedom, it started Kicking wildly with it's hind legs, trying to get at the hands that held it, but to no avail, as I had my grasp high enough up, on the animals body, as to ensure that it's hind legs couldn't reach my hands, and it's flailing wasn't strong enough to cause anything more then a reaction of me, lifting it a little higher up in the air, as to avoid getting kicked in the face by some accidental backkick.
Arriving at the house, I went for the tool shed immediately. Finding the wire cutters I tried again to calm the animal, placing it on the workbench and starting to cut away at all of the wire that I had not been able to previouly get off of it's body. Down to the last one, the wire around its neck, gently probing in with the wire cutters, I found the line 'tween the jaws of the pliers and I gave them a gentle squeeze, YEEEOOOOOWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEE did that Rabbit bolt, it was FREE and it knew it!
After it's running around the tool shed, for what seemded an indeterminable amount of time, it finally stopped, but woudn't you know it, right in front of the door. I knew I had to let it go, so I slowly made my way towards the door, it finally hopped off towards the rear, so I opened the door, it saw that, and bolted out the door, right past my two feet, like a little bolt of lightening.
As it exited the Shed, it ran out about ten feet, turned towards the direction of the forest from whence I had gotten it, started to run towards there, but just slightly after it had turned towards the direction of it's home, it slowed slightly, turned it's head towards me, just a little (as the see out of their eyes slightly differently then us) bit, and it grunted to me, then fled off into the forest and I never saw it again.
Now, in human english, what was it that the rabbit said to me, when it grunted, in rabbit??
BTW this is actually a
true story, this really happened to me, BUT, not unlike Biblical stories, there are only two other witnesses to the events, God, and the dog, but, TTBOMK, the dog has since departed this earth, and apparently God isn't really talking to much to some of you, (What did you do to deserve that??) soooo, Believe it, or, well, Whaaaatever![/color]
P.S. Anyone up for adopting a slightly mishapen, napalmed, grey alien derivitive baby?? call the Zoo line (666) 1-800 I need zoob's love now