At school, our classroom had a small rodent zoo consisting of two
rabbits, three hamsters, a litter of baby gerbils and a guinea pig. At first, I’d
thought the teacher was raising snack food, which impressed me, being the
first sign of intelligence she’d shown. Soon, though, I’d figured out the
animals’ true purpose and left them alone, though I would never understand
the appeal of petting and coddling perfectly good food.
