Once there were two Chinese (from China) workers doing some roofing work on my neighbour’s house. Suddenly they were startled by the crowing of our pet rooster. Yes, my children keep an old rooster (subject another blog for sure) in our backyard.
Worker No. 1: Hey, did you hear a rooster crow?
Worker No. 2: How can? In Singapore where to find a rooster?
And then as if to prove him wrong, Mellow (that’s the name my children gave their beloved rooster) started to crow again. The two excited China workers kept peering down to try and see where the crowing came from. But of course they couldn’t because Mellow’s cage was blocked by our guava tree and back wall. Meanwhile, I was worrying that they would fall off the roof.
Worker No. 2: How can? In Singapore where to find a rooster?
And then as if to prove him wrong, Mellow (that’s the name my children gave their beloved rooster) started to crow again. The two excited China workers kept peering down to try and see where the crowing came from. But of course they couldn’t because Mellow’s cage was blocked by our guava tree and back wall. Meanwhile, I was worrying that they would fall off the roof.
Another noisy visitor came along recently. This time it was a feathered friend. It perched on my neighbour’s tv antenna and made a racket. I grabbed my camera and took a few shots before it flew away. Unfortunately, the quality of my photos was rather poor. Still, my bird consultant, Dr Y C Wee of Besgroup was able to tell me:
“It's a Yellow-crested Cockatoo, a foreign talent! Quite a noisy foreign talent. Yes, it is a parrot. And together with the Tanimbar Corella, another white parrot but without the yellow crest, they are getting common.”
8 comments:
That's a burung kakak tua (=old sister bird) in Malay.
Since you're talking about a pitched roof and a rooster, it reminds me of a riddle which I heard when I was a kid - if your rooster stood at the top of the roof and laid an egg, which side would the egg roll down? That is, the back side or front side in your photo?
There was also a popular Malay song going by that name in the ealry 1960s. It was popularised during a period when Singapore wanted to join Malaysia between 1960 and 1963.
We sang it in school as part of learning the thrid language called Bahasa Melayu.
Mr.Lum- Just out of curiosity why do you keep a rooster? I know a rooster always crow in the morning without fail usually before dawn. The melodious sound of the crowing is always better than the alarm clock when it comes to rousing a person from sleep. The crowing of a rooster brings back fond kampong memories to me as you can only experience this cacophony of sounds in the kampong. It is lamentable that nowadays the crowing of a rooster is seldom heard as most of us live in HDB estates.
Victor-It's difficult to answer your question. All the birds will by natural instinct lay their eggs in the nests. Oh, wait a minute I just realise that a rooster is a male cock so the question of which side the egg will roll does not arise, hahaha....
Why I keep a rooster? If I had my way, that rooster would have ended up on the dinner table long ago. Anyway, now that it is so old, it make a very good conversation starter when visitors.
I tell you more when I blog about Mellow. I already have the title of my blog. It's Older Rooster (avoid the 4 letter word) on the blog.) I have already done the oldest Periodic Table and Oldest Cat on the Blog.
Victor. That photo is taken from my work station in my bedroom which faces the back of my neighbour's house. The front is facing Royalville.
Tom said...
I use to live next to a farm, it had lot of hens and afew Roosters
at first light in the morning the Roosters, would crow cocka dodel do. it was better than alarem clock they got you up on time for work, But I have not seen one for along time .
Watch out they may be planning curry chicken..
Chia, this article was posted in 2008. My children's pet rooster Mellow died in 2009.
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