We were at the zoo a while ago, checking out the new botanical and butterfly gardens. At the zoo, the peacocks are not penned in any way, and have free range of the park. They are quite tame, and quite large.
I was perched on a bench eating a hot dog. You know the kind of hot dog you get at these places - the ratio of bun to weiner is way skewed. Usually I pull off the excess bread and throw it out. But a young girl was trying to take a photo of this magnificent peacock who was strutting around like he owned the place (which he does). I suggested to her that I try to lure the peacock nearer with a piece of bun (one without relish and mustard on it). The bird darted forward and snatched that morsel so quickly that she wasn't able to get a shot. No problem, there's lots of extras bun bits. So I threw another, and the peacock obliged nicely, coming forward more slowly. I threw another piece. The girl clicked madly, exclaiming in delight. But... now the peacock has figured out the source of the bits and has the entire hot dog in his sights. He advanced confidently forward and showed no signs of stopping. He and I were beak to nose before I finally decided I should stand up and move before he grabbed the whole bun right out of my hand. He followed me! I shoved the last bit of hot dog in my mouth and threw the last of the bun his way, as I moved in the opposite direction. He still followed me, until I threw up my empty hands in surrender. The young girl photographed the whole episode, and as I left, I heard her excitedly telling her mom about it. Glad I could help out a budding photographer.
7 comments:
Fantastic work of such a proud and elegant bird. You really brought out the beauty of this guy there =)
I like the way you stuffed what was left of the hotdog in your mouth..the peacock wasn't getting it ha!
You have definately captured the character of the bird.
Nice drawing, I like the colours of the bird. And thats a funny story (I can just picture it : ) and it reminds me of the zoo I always loved to visit as a kid in Stockholm, there we had big gangs of seaguls hanging around on ground and up in the air... Waiting for someone with a hotdog or anything else food wise.
What a great story about this intimidating bird! Your sketch makes the story come alive.
I had a good laugh at that; the whole thing played like a movie in my head as I read the story. This is a wonderful sketch, word-wise, and pencil-wise.
What a hilarious story! I'd have eaten the hotdog too, but also I would have been a tad worried about a hard peck from him. Very nice drawing, too! nancy
Oh you have just made me laugh!! Fabulous story, thank you for sharing it! Your picture is just lovely too - I like the way you have sketched the tail feathers. He really does look like he thinks he owns the place!! Brilliant :0)
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