I must have walked in the small piece of dirt that was on the kitchen floor, as my little darling would never bring in any outside debris! So it falls unto me to take sole responsibility for messing up our home! But this particle had captured Liquorice’s attention. She lay “Sphinx-like” beside my chair, her eyes fixed upon the object to such an extent that I instinctively stared at it too. To my surprise it was moving! Very slowly, but move it did. On closer examination it was a tiny, dark brown moth, little more than ¼ inch in length and whilst undoubtedly travelling as fast as its little legs could carry it the moth made very slow progress across our white floor-tiles. For Liquorice, being the only one with beautiful long black hair in our graying household has its drawbacks, as there are some things such as hairy black tumbleweeds for which my little darling must be held accountable unless her Dad vacuums regularly. However this moth still held Liquorice’s interest. She would slowly lower her head and gradually move it back to its original position. Or Liquorice would stretch her head out to one side, patiently trying various angles, in an attempt to better understand this tiny creature. It was innocently walking in small circles, however, by degrees, the moth was edging closer to her. Liquorice does have, at times, a single-minded determination. And one of those times was now. Table treats had lost their appeal and even neck strokes and shoulder rubs went without acknowledgement! Often when we “romp” together in the front paddock Liquorice holds my fingers, gently but with firmness, in her mouth, her eyes fixed on mine as she “leads” me, quickly walking or jogging along. Liquorice fails to consider the uneven ground and will invariably stumble, tightening her grip on my now-soggy fingers for support! A less than pleasant experience however it sometimes prevents an embarrassing tumble for my little darling. At other fun times a single faltering step as she moves along, while watching only me, and Liquorice ends up on her chin or tumbles over to one side. When this happens my clumsy Liquorice gets up considers what has just transpired then stares directly at me as though the fault was mine! At these times I can only brush the grass and leaves from her head and neck with my hand and apologize. But I digress. Liquorice’s concentration must have made her tired for she lay her head to rest between her front paws however her fascination with that moth continued. I could see her eyelids blink occasionally as Liquorice watched the slow progress the moth was making toward her. Eventually, after an epic journey of almost two feet, the moth found itself just in front of Liquorice’s paws. You could sense the thrill Liquorice was experiencing the closer the moth came. She raised her head a little; pivoting on the point of her chin which remained “fixed” to the floor. All was well until the moth “disappeared” from Liquorice’s view in front of her nose. That was when Liquorice raised her substantial head, leaned over on her right shoulder, raised then stretched out her massive left paw and brought it down on that helpless unsuspecting moth, dragging it closer for a proper examination. But Liquorice was totally mystified when she raised her left paw and there was nothing there! She looked with some urgency all around her paw. She even stood up and examined the area where she had been laying for the “escapee”. It had not occurred to Liquorice that she had in fact smeared that unfortunate moth into oblivion. Liquorice looked up at me, and then my father, in turn, searching for an answer however all we could offer was a piece of cheese each. These she accepted as a consolation but was still concerned almost alarmed, over her missing moth. We plied her with various table treats to the extent that she knew whose turn it was to provide the next tasty morsel. But she still cast her eyes over the floor where her moth was last seen even smelling the floor several times trying to track its scent. Her efforts were in vain. That moth was no more!
Arthur Witten
Liquorice – Actually I am studying Entomology specializing in indigenous members of the order Lepidoptera currently facing extinction in my home.