[the_old_crowd] Watch the birdie

[Aberforth's Goat / Mike Gray]

A small, white goat wonders into the forum. It gambols happily after a
butterfly and nibbles at the greenery. How very nice to be back in
Farmer Gray's thistle patch! 

But what is this! Some birdie person insinuated,

> Nice. Restful. Even bucolic.
> Why, there's even a capriform even-toed ungulate wandering 
> around the place. Fabulous beast by all accounts, scratch his 
> horns and he masticates. 

The ungulate's slightly reddish eyes narrow. He undulates, and ululates
quietly, as he re-reads: 

"Scratch him and he masta"-does-*what*? 

The small goat ponders, and examines his toes, and squints suspiciously
at the interloper. Exactly what is this impertinent youngster
fantasizing about doing to him and watching him do? And where, and why,
does it like to imagine him doing this? It examines its hooves and
(ehem) ruminates: *how* does it imagine him doing this? Has he been
missing a lot of fun all these years?

The small, very innocent, goat wonders mightily about bipeds who are
obsessed with birds. They should be watched. Carefully. Salaciously?

And then it got to thinking,

> - why'd she choose owls?
> Generally speaking owls haven't had a particularly good press 
> throughout history. Came off best among the Greeks; symbol of 
> Athene - though in her attribute as protector rather than as a 
> symbol of wisdom.

Snort. If only it had enjoyed the wisdom of philosophy - if only it had
read Hegel and knew about the owls of Minerva fluttering in at twilight,
with wisdom in toe. That's the best reason I can come up with for using
owls. 

That and the thought of a bunch of lugubrious ravens turning up after a
bad Poe trip, claiming they bring never more than one package at a time
- it's union policy and if you don't like it you can ride the Hogwarts
train to the Amazon and get the package for yourself.

Baaaaaa!

Aberforth's Goat (a.k.a. Mike Gray)
_______________________

"Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, 
so that may not have been bravery...."