Her Favorite
It was her favorite stuffed animal. She couldn’t go to sleep without it. To be able to hug it closely gave her much comfort. When she was but 3 years old and went on her first visit to the zoo, this animal was the one that caught her eye. She had to have one. So her mother bought her a stuffed one.
Whenever she went to the zoo, as she grew older, she loved watching when all of the animals in the cage gathered around and would eat in such a strange way. She hadn’t believed that any animal other than herself used tools to eat their food. It was fascinating.
And how they loved to chatter. Back and forth, making strange sounds that surely must be some sort of language, but it was just sounds to her. Clearly she could see when one of them was upset. Usually the younger ones. It would appear the dominant male was very quiet. It was the adult female that was the disciplinarian.
She could recognize happiness and sadness in the group. Clearly they had a way to display emotions. She once tried to feed one of the infants some food, but instead of the mother attacking the feeder, the mother grabbed the infant and pulled it away from her offering hand; A very protective gesture.
Oh how they all loved to move around. There was the climbing. Trees seemed to be their favorite whenever they came out of their shelters. And the young ones always seemed to be chasing one another for no reason. Occasionally, an adult would join in the play. It was fun to watch all their activities.
The day they put a mirror in the enclosure was the best. The young ones would just stare at themselves as if envisioning another being with them. The adults obviously knew better. They used the mirror to preen themselves. Sometimes you could hear disgruntled sounds coming from their mouths as they turned from side to side looking at themselves in the mirror.
Yes, these were her favorite animals. And the stuffed one that she got as a three-year-old was well worn and loved. Her greatest desire was that someday, scientists would figure out a way to domesticate these creatures and she could have her very own human as a pet.
