Our son Lance is very fond of any living thing that moves, furry or not. I personally prefer something furry, but did not want to discourage his love for living things. Hence he was allowed a pet weta. He was really fond of it and kept it in a box full of leaves and twigs. He spent many hours doing his research on habitat, nutrition and characteristics of wetas and spent many hours observing his pet. The weta never had a name - he was just called 'Weta'.

Weta was Lance's pride and joy. He was introduced to many visitors. Most reactions were polite with a side squirm.

All was well until one cold night, while we were slumbering, we heard a prolonged shrill scream. I shot out of bed ,followed by the other members of the family, and we traced the screams to Lance's little sister's room.

Amidst sobs, she said that there was something prickly by her foot. We stripped her bed covers and lo and behold, Weta had snugly tucked himself into bed with her!

How did he do that? On transferring Weta back to his box, we discovered that he had nibbled a hole through the perforated cover, went for a walk down the hallway and chose a nice comfy bed.

This is still a joke in our family whenever there is any discussion about Lance's obsession with anything that moves.

Author: Caroline
Country: New Zealand
True story: Yes
Rating: 2 paws up
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