Bluegoatsquash and Other Fun Experiments with Animals

I haven't touched this blog for a while. Time for an update. Quite a few things have happened. But all that can wait. I'll just pick up from where the comments from the previous post left off, about shaving cats and rabbits and all that. I heard an interesting story a few days ago, which is in the same vein. This was told to me by a colleague at work. I don't know how true it is.

Quite understandably, some people would have found the idea of shaving a rabbit rather shocking. This story will also shock, but it might amuse a few. It does not involve rabbits. It involves a goat. Goats are funny. You can't argue with that. Apart from the goat, which is the main character, the story also involves a bell tower with a bell, razor blades, shaving cream, blue paint, and a bunch of rowdy (and presumably intoxicated) college students.

A bit of background first. Some Australian undergraduate college students stay in hostels while they study, like their counterparts in other parts of the world. For some strange reason, these hostels are referred to as schools or something. Not exactly sure, but it doesn't matter. I don't know why, when 'hostel' is a perfectly good term to use for these places. Anyhoo, each of these schools have a mascot. Some animal or the other. And the mascot for this one particular school (let's call it Queen, you'll see why in a bit) is a goat.

Apparently, these goats don't live very long. The current mascot is Bentleigh the 5th. A few goat generations ago, the Queen's goat (now you know why I wanted to call it Queen. Say Queen's goat 5 times and try not to laugh) was Bentleigh the 2nd. This story is about Bentleigh the 2nd, and how he came to a squishy end.

The story goes that a bunch of students got very drunk and decided to take Bentleigh the 2nd up the local bell tower. All the way up to the bell. Once there, they proceeded to shave the Queen's goat and then spray paint him blue. Shortly after that, the bell rung and Bentleigh the 2nd either jumped or was thrown off the bell tower, and all that remained was a lump of blue with a couple of horns sticking out.

It still remains a mystery as to whether Bentleigh was thrown from the tower, or whether he jumped. Personally, I think he jumped. It was the only thing he could do. Stop a moment, and put yourselves in Bentleigh's hooves. You're a goat, and you're up in a bell tower. Not very familiar territory, you can be sure. You've also just been shaved and spray painted blue. Then the bunch of hooligans who are with you in the bell tower, the perpetrators of these unspeakable activities upon yourself, ring the bell.

Given the situation, what would you do as Bentleigh the 2nd, the Queen's goat? Choose from the list below:

1. Bleat
2. Hop
3. Skip
4. Jump
5. Chew
6. Poop
7. Sing out Hare Krishna
8. Dance the Hoochie-Koo
9. Join the Blue Man Group

There you go. He jumped! Maybe he bleated and hopped and skipped and pooped as well, but he jumped.

Still, what led up to that was shocking. Which twisted soul would drag a goat up a bell tower, shave it and paint it blue?? Absolutely disgusting! Shocking!

I can understand if you'd want to paint it purple, or green, and maybe orange, but BLUE???

Nooooooo. Shocking!

P.S. - For all you concerned readers, BooBoo the rabbit still lives. Complete with the fur he came with. He leads a blissful existence in the backyard.