Musings of a Compulsive Thinker

The Minion

Last week Emily saw, was intrigued by, and purchased a Venus' fly trap. She refers to it as her Minion. Her stated logic for this is that the Minion kills things for her. (When my dad was introduced to the Minion, he just made a comment about mini-onions.) Emily makes me laugh.

The other day I found a tiny spider in the living room and announced it to the household at large. Normally this would provoke Emily into escaping the room with high-pitched shrieks; this time, I suppose, she felt safe as she was, checking her e-mail on the computer across the room with the Minion perched on the desk next to the screen.

We decided it would be a good idea to feed the spider to the Minion.

Emily made me catch the spider in a piece of tissue and shake it into the Minion's container. (It came in this container, clear plastic with a lid, with the explanation that these plants prefer high humidity.) We all then watched the spider scurry around the Minion's container for a few minutes before Emily got frustrated.

She picked up the container, turned it up-side down, and shook it vigorously, screaming, "Earthquake!!!"

When the earthquake was over, we found the spider clinging to the Minion, just below one of its traps. The spider tested the footing ahead, thought better of it, and retreated back to the sides of the container.

Emily yelled at the spider for being stupid, informed it that it was now going to die a painful death in retaliation for its non-cooperation, and expressed her disappointment to the Minion at its own lack of aggression.

I got bored shortly thereafter and went upstairs.

A short time later, Emily ran upstairs after me, shrieking in maniacal sing-song, "It ate it! It ate it!"

I expressed interest, and examined the Minion to see the closed trap while Emily stroked the Minion's container, telling it, "Good Minion, I'm so proud of you!"

We have also discovered, in a separate incident (which still makes me laugh when I think about Emily's startled reaction), that the Minion will bite anything when provoked. Emily was testing its reflexes with her finger. Once she got over her surprise, she was extremely pleased with the Minion's reaction time.

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Labels: everyday

posted by the alygator @ 5:08 PM