Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Virtual pets haiku

It's so cuddly.
You get to feed it fake food.
They are your own pet.

Weasels vs. Ferrets The final compare and contrast.

Your teacher calls your name for you to present your project. Your hands suddenly feel clammy and you get sort of dizzy as you walk up to the podium to present your project. The project is a compare and contrast. You chose to do it on ferrets and weasels.

Once you get to the podium you think to yourself, ‘I can do this, I can do this. I know all my facts and practically memorized my speech.’ Finally you clear your throat and begin:
“Welcome to my compare and contrast. I decided to do it on ferrets and weasels. I hope you like it.” You start off by saying all the differences, “The long-tailed weasel has a white underbelly, brown coat and black-tipped tail, the female is about 13 inches long, while the male is about 16 inches long. The ferret is more slender; it’s yellowish-white, pink-eyed and is about 14 inches long.” Then you think to yourself ‘Come on you can do better than that, dazzle them.’
“Also Weasels are bloodthirsty hunters with keen sight and smell.” Someone from the back of the room makes weird faces.

“They pursue small creatures such as rats, mice, rabbits, birds and snakes. They also seem at times to kill merely for the sport, as the animal remains are usually untouched. Wild ferrets also hunt small prey and often drink the blood of their kill. Domesticated ferrets eat pet food, which are insects and small mice or chicks that are sold as pet food.” Someone suddenly groans and shouts out, “Gross.”

You continue on, “Both weasels and ferrets hunt small prey, but only the ferret has been domesticated as a pet capable of companionship and exterminating small pests like snakes and mice. Ferrets can be found at most pet stores and can be trained to use a litter box and do tricks. Ferrets are social animals and sleep up to 18 hours a day. A weasel's anger issues are dangerous to other living creatures, including humans. They aren’t social, only interact during mating season. It is against the law to own a weasel as a household pet in most states. They have a wide distribution throughout the world except unique Australia and Antarctica.”One of the guys that thinks they are all that shouts out sarcastically, “Oh my god that is so cool.”

You continue with less confidence than before. “The United States Fish and Wildlife Service lists that certain ferret and weasel species as endangered, threatened or species of concern. The black-footed ferret inhabitants fell dangerously low in the 1980s. A small group of them was captured in Montana and put into a captive breeding facility. Although still considered endangered, the young from the community has been introduced into the wild since 1991, and the population continues to grow. The Florida long-tailed weasel is listed as a species of worry, which means the inhabitants, is becoming noticeably low. That is all I got from my first website of differences.” Someone shouts out, “Finally I’m so bored.”

Your teacher yells at the Student and tells you to go on. You start by muttering, “This is my second website of differences. There are ten species of Mustela referred as weasels, while ferret is a subspecies of one of the polecats of the same genus. Ferrets are longer in body length, and a shorter in tail length compared to weasels. Ferrets are friends of man and domesticated animals, but weasels are pests and non-domesticated animals. Generally, weasels have a brown upper coat with a white belly, but ferrets are brown-black with white or mixed colored animals. Ferrets are closer relatives to polecats than weasels. Both of them are carnivores, but ferrets are special being obligate carnivores. Ferrets are nocturnal animals, while weasels are diurnal. Ferrets are crepuscular animals, but weasels are not.” When no one comments on this mark your confidence practically goes through the roof, and you continue on.

“Finally here are my similarities to the weasel and ferret: Weasels and ferrets are very similar in terms of body shape and size. They both are carnivorous and crafty. Ferrets have a long history of making wonderful pets and they are known for being entertaining. Weasels and ferrets both eat small animals and make good hunters for farms that are plagued with mice and rabbits.” The people finally seem interested so you keep going on gaining more confidence every second.
“If you ever consider getting a ferret or weasel for a pet it is important to remember that they both sleep for many hours each day but love to exercise and play actively. They are extremely curious animals are infamous little thieves who will hide away their treasures in their private burrows. Ferrets are territorial and can be domesticated. Weasels are predators and are rarely pets. That was my essay I hope you liked it.”

I confidently walk to my desk and sit down. Thinking to myself 'Finally its over :)'

My poem

Once upon a time in a far away land,
There was a very young piece of sand.
He would play all day,
Until he couldn't stay.
One day, his parents said,
"Since you are sick you will have to stay in bed."
The young piece of sand cryed and cryed,
But his parent said they couldn't of lied,
Or he would have fried.
He asked how,
They said that since they live in Moscow.
Finally he understood,
Then he realized thy lived in a piece of wood.
The End