Life certainly became exciting for him and the rest of the school when Mr. Wood was gifted a baby wild boar by Mr. Corfield. In those days everything was simple and nobody made a great hue and cry about the education of animals in schools. This little bundle of joy was named Mr. Muthuswamy and Mr. Wood and his entourage made a fascinating sight as they perambulated the corridors and walkways of the school. Simba seemed more animated with this new companion who grew at a prodigious rate. The baby stripes were replaced by wiry hair and Mr. Muthuswamy took on a distinctly wild appearance. Small tusks soon appeared and Simba became circumspect in his dealings with him. There was some loose talk of the danger Mr. Muthuswamy posed to the students.
Mr. Wood then locked him up in a small shed beside his residence and we could hear the pig banging at the sides. Every now and then Mr. Muthuswamy would break out, necessitating reinforcement of the shed. Then the holidays were upon us and Mr. Muthuswamy's cloistered existence came to an end. He had the run of the school and his adventurous ways led him to cross the Rubicon, that thin stream that separated Stanes from the Ritz Hotel grounds. Nights were probably spent in rooting up the forest and having whatever nocturnal fun that pigs had. His wanderings took him further afield into the virgin territory of the adjoining girl's school where he rooted up the nuns’ carrots and exotic flowers.
These gentle nuns tolerated these incursions for a while and then seething with holy indignation hired a hunter to shoot the creature down. Fortunately it was Christmas time and Mr. Muthuswamy made an excellent roast for the nuns, so used to eating chicken and other watery victuals. Mr. Wood never shared his thoughts on the matter with the school but a wave of righteous anger possessed the boys when they returned from the winter vacation.
What reprisals were conducted is not known, but the planning would have put the Vandals to shame. Simba seemed to age quite a bit after Mr. Muthuswamy became roast, until of course, Angel the brown Labrador came along.
1 comment:
Saritha wrote:
Mr Wood also had as a pet, a rooster. Not many knew that this bird oversaw the security of the Principal's residence fro a brief while. I recall an evening errand that took me to the bungalow. Hapless me. Two malevolent, brassy eyes were following the progress of a potential intruder in the guise of an innocent bespectacled girl. The master's house had to be defended at any cost. Letting out a terrible squawk, the rooster launched itself from the porch. Landing close to me, it propelled itself at me with bent neck and raised wings with the sole intent of drawing blood. I ran. Terror-stricken. Screaming for help. Help came just in time. In the form of Mrs Wood.
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