‘Tieger is lying on his side in the fish bowl, but it is okay because he is not floating, so he must be all right. He will just be having a wee rest.’
Youngest daughter has nagged us for another pet goldfish for the past year or so, ever since her beloved Raisin, also a goldfish, died.
So her face was a delightful picture when one of the stall holders at the local show charged a hefty sum to throw three balls into a bucket to win a goldfish. Several attempts later and with more than a little apprehension I agreed to take the goldfish that she had won home. The stall holder assured me that her fish were all very healthy, as I handed over the cash for two goldfish bowls and parted with extra money for a goldfish for my son.
Youngest of course was desperate to go straight home after the purchases, never mind that eldest daughter still had several classes to compete in with her horse then. Luckily Grandma stepped in and gave her a lift back, as I stood anxiously watching eldest jump a clear round in the gymkhana events, at least I could get a break from doing the rounds of the bouncy castles and trampolines though, and when we did eventually load Hansel the horse into the trailer everyone left the show field exhausted but happy.
Youngest and son were at home busy collecting pebbles and getting water to room temperature to acclimatise the latest additions to our ever growing menagerie. The last week has seen Tieger becoming one of the most photographed goldfish around. Her bowl has been carefully decorated with colourful felt tip pen designs and a collection of carefully selected toys has been placed around the bowl to provide stimulation and amusement. Youngest has even been hassling the happy potters to let her go into the pottery to make a castle out of clay for Tieger to play in, so when she announced Tieger was lying sideways up in the fish bowl today alarm bells began to ring in my head. On closer inspection my worst fears were confirmed, Tieger was dead. Youngest was completely devastated. We tried all we could to muster some comfort by pointing out very positively that in fact Tieger had lived for nearly two weeks, Raisin only lasted two days, that was when youngest looked at us and said
‘Duncan
Luckily we still have Orangina, son’s ‘show’ fish, for another day at least….
Until next time….
2 comments:
We never had much luck with goldfish either. Sad and disappointing for the children.
Hope you had a good day at the show.
Oh dear - life's little tragedies! I remember when our son had turtles. While he was a school, his little sister took the turtles out of the terrarium and scooted them along the floor like little cars. It was a sad ending, and has become a family legend.
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