Gossip

While reading my 10th Ian Rankin, I found Inspector John Rebus at the zoo, looking at the 'meercats'.

I hadn't the faintest idea which animals were meant! In Dutch, they are called 'stokstaartjes'. A literal translation into English would be something like 'little stick-tails'....

Why meerCATS? Do they look like cats? I know my cat would be insulted by that thought... They look more like hairy seals to me, hairy dogs to her.

But what do I look like to them?

Why do we, human beings, always worry about what other human beings will think of us and never about a meercat's thoughts? Probably because we think that meercats do not gossip...

"See that guy over there? No that one, second in line. Are you blind? The one with the big no-hose!" "Yep! What about Captain Hook?!" "Man, this one really should go for the extremest make-over of the century!" "That his wife?" "Think so." "Then Pinocchio must be loaded! Oh my God, look at him smiling now. See those teeth?"

You should not listen to a stupid meercat (nor to a stupid neighbour or colleague), but perhaps you yourself are not satisfied with the looks of your teeth. Then you should come to our clinic and let us fix the problem.

"Told you so, he's loaded! See what he's done to his teeth? Must have cost a fortune!"