Wookie Tricks

Wookie is a long-haired tan and white guinea pig. He belongs to Friend, from my book club.

The last time our book club met at Friend's house, Friend tried to show us guinea pig tricks. She claimed that Wookie could spin, jump, play the piano, play the guitar, pirouette, and somersault. When she tried to get Wookie to do the tricks, he wouldn't cooperate. He either wandered off or sat like a clump on the carpet. Kind of like Michigan J, the singing frog that does not perform in public. We doubted that Wookie was capable of doing much more than mimic a furry slipper.

As the book club prepared for a return to Friend's house, Friend promised more Wookie tricks. She said Wookie would redeem himself and she will be vindicated. To ensure this happens, she engaged the services of her husband, Wookie's real trainer.

The book club met last night at Friend's. Her husband, a musician, had a gig and couldn't join us. But the Wookie show must go on. Friend gathered us in her living room and said, You will now be amazed by our talented Wookie's repetoire of musical and acrobatic tricks. But Wookie was not in the room. Friend turned on the TV.

She had videotaped Wookie's performance for us! There was her husband on the screen, holding Wookie in his arms. He introduced Wookie as a wonderment of nature and referred to the ladies of the book club as "ye of little faith". Friend's daughter edited the film to include credits, trick names and most of all, music. Then Wookie set to work.

He walked up to a spinning wheel and spinned it, twice. He jumped over his trainer's arm. To make sure we didn't think it was a camera trick, he jumped over the arm back and forth, several times. He played the keyboard with his paws and plucked guitar strings with his teeth to produce short tunes of his own composition. It was fantastic!

The women hooted and hollered, screamed and shrieked with delight. I have never laughed so hard in my life. There must be a TV station out there with a call for animal trick submissions.