The Pets We Had

Being an MK to some exotic place means you get AWESOME pets from that exotic place!
First, we had normal pets. Dog and a cat. Slowly, I began to love animals. And thus, I begged for more.
So we got a chicken. Vampire bats got to the chickens, and I cried my eyes out...Poor Rosie, Pepper, Millie, Alice, Gaby, and Archibald...
Then, after that, we decided we would get two turtles: One for me and one for my sister.
They were snapping turtles. We put them in a cage held together with staples and tin.
Two weeks later, WOOSH. The turtles bit off the staples and knawed through the tin. We lost them.
Later, we were about to get an ocelot. Beautiful little kitties. Dad was all for it, but Mom...Not so much...
So that was past. We were almost going to get a horse. The problem? We didn't have any idea how to get the horse from the village it was in to our village. NO WAY would the horse ride in the canoe so far. And, we also didn't have a place to put him.
So, we couldn't have a horse either.
We had birds. Well, not really but we fed a Toucan popcorn every day. He would come by and sit on our doorstep ready for the treats. When we left, he left.
I often captured many little creatures in my Magnifying Carrier. This wonderful bug catcher was great for anything small enough to fit in it. It held tadpoles, whom, I'm sad to say, died about two days later, and butterflies and everything else! It broke when Dad tried to keep a scorpion inside it. Sad.
We even found a PURPLE ladybug. Violet purple. And we named it--my name!! I loved im'. We had found him on our walk down to the creek.
We also had Bubbles. A very cute little water turtle that I found on the path on his back. I saw him dying, and if you know me, you KNEW I would NOT leave the poor thing there!!
We had him for a few days. He lived in a tub in the shower. Mom did not like him one bit. He was a side-neck turtle, which meant that instead of pulling his head in, he rolled it underneath, sideways. He had a long neck. Which meant that, anyone who was using the pot had to be ready for a peep-show. Bubbles would watch everyone. We let him go in the creek, because we knew he ate fish and we couldn't give him fish. So, we took him and left him in the creek. He was much happier. And so was Mom.
Through the years we were offered many types of pets. Mom turned down anything that was either freaky, needed food that was difficult to find, too big, or we had no place for them or any of the above.
No birds was her rule. Mom has always been afraid of birds. I love them!
I had many turtles. One of them, the one with much character, died in the sun when we left for a week and we left him with our trusted friend. It was not their fault.
Frankie was his name. He had character!!
He had scared Mom more than once, and gave each of us a laugh. I'm crying now, as I write this.
Once, when Mom was in the school-room alone, swinging and reading in the hammock, she heard a noise in Dad's tool room.
"What are you doing??" Mom shouted.
Silence.
"Hellooo?!?"
Crash, bang, CLUNK, rustle.
Mom got up and investigated. Frankie had SOMEHOW managed to climb onto Dad's tool-shelf and was nestled among the pliers. He had made Mom think someone had been stealing tools.
Nope. Just Frankie, settling down for his afternoon nap.
Another time, Mom was swinging in the hammock again, and Frankie squeezed himself under the bottom shelf of Dad's enormous bookshelf. He had been taking a nap peacefully, when Mom laughed her head off and called us down there.
We laughed even harder. I tried to pull Frankie out from under the bookshelf. Dad had to pry him loose. Finally we got him out.
Seems Frankie liked variety, and changed is napping spot every time. We found him all sorts of places. In the shower, under the bed, in the closet. He was always hiding. I loved him. So I cried extremely deep when he had passed away.
So, those are our pets that we had. And there are MANY more. Like a humming-bird.