Strange Behaviours Of Animals

Animals' behaviours can be stranger than ours. Here I can give some examples of strange animal behaviour that I've observed in my life.

The crows: When it's all quiet in the afternoon, I often find the crows cawing harshly together. I wonder what made them caw so loudly altogether. Why do they do that? Do they want to win the Grammy Award for the Best 'Caw Band' Of The Year? Who knows? Maybe next year I'll find some crows performing in the MTV Asia Music Awards! My parents say that when a crow dies the other crows shout like this. If this is the truth then I must say that humans have something to learn here. On the flip side of the coin it is surprising that since they are always crying for dead crows then all of them should be dead by now.

Another day my sister and I saw a crow that resembled Socrates. It was standing on the roof of our building. We tried to scare the crow away but it didn't even move. It pulled a moody face and cawed once. Did it mean to say 'Don't disturb, I'm thinking…'? Strange!

Then there is the common incident with the crows pooping on peoples' heads. One day some of my friends and I were out walking. We came under a tree where many of the feathered creatures were perched. Suddenly We found out that those crows had been suffering from diarrhoea! We were walking under the large tree and found out that the crows were pooping continuously together! We moved from one place to another and they followed us, showering us with the icky, gooey stuff. Maybe our heads were their favourite targets and they were competing as to who could have the highest number of hits. Luckily for us none of them won.

The cats: I'm very fond of cats as they are so cute. But it is sooooo sad that cats are sooooo afraid of us. Whenever they see us they look so scared and run away so quickly and that is so sad for me.

The dogs: Dogs scare me very much. One day when I was returning home from school I saw a dog entering our building. I was wondering why it couldn't find any other building except for the one I was entering. Anyway as I am scared of dogs I didn't try to enter the building and waited for the dog to come out. Several MINUTES passed by but the dog still hadn't come out. So at last I encouraged myself, took a deep breath and entered the building. I reached my house safely without any mark of the dog. Now where did the dog go? Did it go up to the roof and jump down to take its own life?

The mongoose: I think in my locality there are as many mongooses as there are cats and they're always in such a hurry! It is as if they are practicing for Marathon Race! I mean I often find mongooses crossing the road SO quickly like a typical citizen of Dhaka city. They are experts in crossing the roads quickly, whether it is busy or not. It seems to me that they're busier than the busy roads of Dhaka.

The mosquitoes: Mosquitoes are like our familiar friends. I often find mosquitoes singing for me at night so that I go to sleep and give it a great chance of biting me. Two or three days ago I found a mosquito sitting on the Oxford dictionary (maybe in order to increase its vocabulary. Alas, poor thing! It couldn't even turn a page). I stared at the mosquito. It didn't move. I continued staring at it for a long time but still it didn't move. I thought it had gone to sleep. Then I looked at my book for once and then again looked at the mosquito. But I couldn't find the mosquito. What does it mean? When I was staring at it, it didn't even move. And when I looked at my book only for a spilt second it went away. I can't still find any explanation.

And now I, who am the member of the strangest species Homo Sapiens, can't find any energy to write anymore about strange animals' strange behaviour. Ciao.

By Fahmina Nahid

SOME THOUGHTS

It's winter season now, which also means another month of vacation and lot more fun! My educational institution is presently closed as the exams ended a couple of weeks back. These days I sometimes wonder on how to make use of my leisure in a more befitting manner. Sometimes, just switching on the TV channels and listening to ear deafening music seems quite bo-o-o-ring. I would rather prefer chatting over the phone with my friends, mailing them from time to time, giving away some thought to poems but always ending up with something funny, just the opposite of what you would expect from someone like me. Even those storybooks of Harry Potter or Sweet Valley do not appeal to me at all. Well, sleep is something definitely to be relished at all times especially in this cool weather when nothing can be more comforting than dwelling in a peaceful slumber state within a cosy blanket!

I really love spending time with my family and more than that, cracking jokes with my brother against mom, we love to tease her, not that we are insolent or something but it's all so much fun when the two of us argue on one side and leaving her on her own! There are barely times when the four of us in the family get to hang out together, like always someone has to be busy or some sort of specific problem is likely to arise. However, the bond between the each of us is so strong that we easily forget all odds against times of crisis. Sometimes I do wonder that this is actually a wonderful period of life when we are in our teenage years. Everything seems so much interesting, going out and being carefree, hanging out with friends and playing pranks, debating on a simple yet argumentative matter, getting to pay a visit to all the fun places including fast foods and ice cream parlours, getting to dress the way we like and spending most of time with people we love and care for. Of course studies come first but there has to be some social activity as well.

A lot of people say that they do not understand me because I am not consistent in my thoughts, which run ahead of my imagination. Well, a person's nature can be very difficult to detect. One may seem to be a very polite and innocent person on the outside when from inside he is actually a hypocrite. Or you may not like someone who is always nagging about stuff but in your time need he becomes a helping hand. It is very difficult to understand the true meaning of friendship or rather to understand who our true friends are. In the world of ours, people have become so egoistic that they barely have time for their near and dear ones. Once a friend may now turn into a stranger, you never know! Like someone said, 'if to make friendship is a science, to preserve it is an art,' very true! I had a lot of pals during my childhood, but as you grow towards adolescence things gradually start to change, people form their own opinions on the matter, then are so many other things like sacrifice or envy or even affection that grows in the group you stay with.

People change with time, it is up to you which path the choose in life, whom to keep as your trusted ones and whom to abandon. The season's changing; hope our dear ones don't simply due to some 'peer pressure'!

By Bitterheart

Poems

Beholden for an Eternity

It was the wall of strength,
that kept me from falling;
The slightest nudge that
pushed me further than I ever thought I could go.
It was the most beautiful smile,
that lit up this world of darkness
and the softest words
that kept the heart beating.
It was the light you radiated
that showed the way,
the hope you gave
that dispelled my fears
and taught me to stand up.
It was the faith you had in me
that made me believe.
It was you.
It is you.
You, that I am beholden to?
For Eternity.

This poem is dedicated to my heroes, my strength and my life- my parents- Dr A.K.M. Nurun Nabi and Mrs. Gulnahar Nabi. THANK YOU is the least I can say.

By Prathama Komal Nabi