Which is the happiest animal? Dolphins and chimpanzees and dogs and birds. The former three because they smile, the latter because it sings. Dogs wag, too. And cats purr, but only sometimes. Crocodiles have big wide smiles but we know they're not nice because they bite. And butterflies are happy because they're flappy and colourful, even though their colours mean danger, stay away, don't eat me.
Which is the saddest animal? Sad squashy things that lurk at the bottom of the sea, like octopi and eels. Horses because they have long faces and carry us about all the time. Sharks with their gaping, downturned mouths and we know they're not nice, because they bite. Tigers locked in cages. Elephants locked in cages. Anything locked in cages.
What do animals know of happiness, or sadness? What do they feel? Only what we tell ourselves they do. Only what we want them to. We treat them like mirrors. Look at that monkey smiling. Look at that polar bear, crying. Who's really sad? Their suffering is at our hands and the sadness is in ourselves.
The saddest animal is us.
I am going to write a story of some variety, long or short, fictitious or factual, every single day for a year. Wish me luck.
That was a bit grim?!
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