I have a cute/semi-amazing ferret story.
 
First of all, you have to know that Percy is a raisin freak.  If she
thinks she has the remotest chance of getting a raisin she will
beg relentlessly until she gets it.  And, she won't be able to
settle down until she gets it.  (she's a "raisin addict" I guess. :) )
If she can't have raisins, cheerios will suffice in a pinch, but
there is a definite preference for raisins.
 
A few days ago Percy was otherwise occupied and didn't notice me
giving raisins to the other girls.  About 10 minutes later (long
enough for the raisin scent to have dissipated) Percy started
begging at my Mother in the kitchen.  (I was in the family room)
Since I still had the raisin container, Mom gave her cheerios which
Percy gratefully accepted.  Then Miniver (whom I'm boarding for
the summer) jumped up again to see if there was any chance I had
extended my "raisin limit" for the day.  I said to her "Sorry
Miniver, you're cut off".  She left, but Mom heard that and said
to Percy (in a normal talking voice) "looks like you're in the
wrong place Perce, Mommy has raisins".  Nothing spectacular
about the way she said it, same tone of voice she always talks
to Percy with when she's feeding her.  But Percy immediately
jerked her head around, looked my direction and ran into the
family room and jumped up and started to beg!  I couldn't
believe it!  First of all, *nothing* tears Percy away from treats,
even if they are only cheerios.  Second, there was no other way
for Percy to know that I had the raisins (they weren't open at
the time, so she couldn't have smelled them, or else she would
have been begging at me to begin with).  Third, even if she did
just happen to decide to check to see if I had the raisins, she
would have come into the family room and started looking around
for them, she wouldn't have just immediately started to beg at me.
So she must have actually understood what my Mom said!!!
 
That will teach me to think that ferrets are only capable of
learning key words and tone of voice!  :)
 
Anyway, I guess you really need to know Percy to fully understand
how amazing this was, but I hope it was at least amusing for
everyone.  I know my Mother and I were both highly amused (at
least after we picked our jaws up off the floor...  :) )
 
- Nancy
 
Nancy Hartman       Internet - [log in to unmask]        GEnie - n.hartman4
President, Delaware Valley Ferret Club | CIS Grad Student, U. of Delaware
      ***  Caregiver to Percy, Bree, & Popcorn, the ferrets  ***
  "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals" - Kant
 
[Posted in FML issue 0496]