I belong to my neighbourhood Freecycle and each day get lots of offers and wanted ads in my email. I've decided to start to collect the ones that seem to say a lot in few words, in the manner of the famous Hemingway small ad. They are mostly from the wanted section. Here are my first two, picked out from last week's offerings:
WANTED PLEASE - WEIGHT WATCHERS BOOKLETS
wanted: Bible for teen
(today featured: 'Recieved[sic] teen bible thank you!' - so that's that for some fourteen year old. No more carefree farting about on YouTube and Facebook in that house, I fear)
Today a whole succession have been lodged on the subject of a silkie hen. In the first one the hen was offered with no strings attached, but soon after the ad was amended to include 'added requirements', because her owner, Tracey, decided that she (the silky) must live with other silky hens. Apparently they love to 'cuddle up together.' Tracey apologised. 'I hate to be a pain,' she said, 'But I love her so much that I just want what's best for her.' Which raised the question of why she was giving her away in the first place.
Puzzled, I opened the full text of the original ad and quickly discovered I'd completely missed the most important aspect of the story. In that first ad, Tracey had explained the situation in detail:
'We have one very very lovely silkie hen needing a gentle caring new home with no kids please,' she wrote. 'Her name is Boo and I am so sad to see her go she is my favourite chook ever.
She developed epilepsy after eating a toxin which has since passed and she is a lovely healthy chook now besides the seizures. They are slowly getting better but are mostly brought on by stress. Unfortunately our yard is not big enough to let her roam and keep my 2 yr old away from her. He likes to pick her up and carry her around.
She is very tame, and such a lovely chook who needs a nice gentle home to let her fully recover. We wish we could offer her this but our adventerous 2yr old is not going to allow it.'
I love that phrase, 'besides the seizures'. And I can see it now - a determined two-year-old staggering about the back garden, a twitching writhing chook clutched in his embrace.
I have to admit though that I didn't expect there'd be any takers for poor Boo. Silly me. Tracey's just posted the following message: 'We have had some very lovely offers. Thank you to everyone.
It's lovely that there is a home out there for her.
My Husband and I are just discussing what we think is going to be best.
Thanks again to all who contacted us, we will get back to you very soon.
Tracey : )'
So just like everything else in modern life, gaining access to an epileptic chook is highly competitive. There are people all over town waiting by the telephone, hoping for this once in a lifetime chance. Who'd have thought.
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