This had been a Facebook update posted under the tag #lucitales some months back, but I thought I should share it with my blog-readers too. So here goes:

Two Rufous Treepies are found whispering to each other on the half-wall of the front verandah of my house. A reconstruct of the conversation:

RT 1: You see those thingamabobs in that bowl? I tried one. They are really yum.
RT 2: (horrified) You have been stealing from the Dog! What will the Lady say?!
RT 1: (defensively) If you ask me the Dog is too fat, just like the Lady, and needs a few less of them yummy bites.
RT 2: But stealing is stealing. OMG, what if the Lady got us arrested or something! And she’d never click us in our lifetime again.
RT 1: Ha. You and your theatrics. Quit being a drama queen. A bite is worth more than a thousand pictures. Besides, the Lady isn’t home. So who’s gonna tell her anyway? Are you?
RT 2: (looks around) Ahh… in that case….. Oh well, may be one tiny piece won’t be missed. Let me see if it is as yum as you claim it is.

When the conversation reaches this interesting point, the Dog, who had been eavesdropping all along from inside the house, whimpers to be let out, flies out of the door like a tsunami when the door is opened, chases the Rufous Treepies off the wall, and out the gate, returns quickly and checks her bowl. She counts the nuggets of Pedigree to make sure none are missing. The count is just right. But the Dog is not going to take chances anymore. So she plonks herself next to the bowl and promptly falls asleep.

*The Dog* of course is my darling Lucikins. 🙂

©Shail Mohan 2015