Ever
have imagined what will happen if belligerent
dogs, stubborn goats and noisy chickens share
accommodation?
Guess
the self-righteous dogs would be
self-appointed policemen, the reserved goats
would refuse to co-operate, while
easily-excited chickens, like many media
guys, keep stirring things up with
sensational news reports, comments and
forecasts. Before long we may see the dogs
biting the goats and the goats chasing the
chickens and the chickens fleeing the scene.
In the end the dogs impose their hegemony in
the site, but their victory could be rather
shallow: the goats are mortally broken and
can not serve the ruler whether they are
willing or not, and the chickens have long
sought refugee elsewhere. Then the dogs may
have to turn on each other to determine who
shall rule over who until they end in common
ruin.
The
theoretical scenario of above almost became
reality in the yard of a Chinese farmer known
as Big Sister Liu.
Liu
lives in Yanqing County in the outskirts of
Beijing and keeps four dogs, tow goats and
dozens of chickens in her family-run
farmhouse accommodation (农家院). Her dogs are not more humble
than any other dogs, her goats are not more
easygoing than any other goats, and her
chickens are not more meditative than any
other chickens. Then how is she able to
accommodate this multi-species community
under one roof without turning her residence
into a war zone? Well, she has a secret
weapon: a pair of ostriches.
The
young birds are quite pretty (they are on
strict diet and eat oil-free & salt-free
cabbage salads only) and very tall (up to 2
metres) with a pair of long and robust legs,
that only a well-trained ballerina or a
highly accomplished martial arts master would
possess. They do enjoy showing off their kung
fu kicks, but on the dogs only. The poor dogs
are so petrified of these long-range arms
(legs that are) that they would immediately
lie low, not daring to demand an apology.
But
hasn’t Big Sister Liu just installed a new
bunch of dictators to replace the old?
Fortunately, nope. Because no matter how
successful the birds have managed to terrify
the dogs, they are unable to impress the
goats who view them just as a couple of tall
chickens. Whenever the goats get a gutful of
the dogs, they’ll try to get even with the
ostriches by chasing them around as they do
to the chickens. And whenever the ostriches
spot the sight of the sharp horns, they run
away faster than any chicken would do,
failing to remember their legs are
multi-functioned. Thus the balance of power
is achieved.
Of
course, it still leaves a lot to be desired
if Big Sister Liu ever wants to create a
harmonious backyard. That might require Liu,
for instance, to set up a forum to talk about
The
Analects to her multi-being
audience, so her furred, horned and feathered
friends can learn to have genuine respect
for, instead of fear of, each other. When
this happens, it will be a miracle. But
miracles do occur. You never know.
(Original
news report in Chinese on 北京晚报by
黄敬、郑永:
农家大院里动物循环称霸王)
