The Writers' Corner ~ Hokey And Pokey

As a teenager, I had a pair of guinea pigs that were named Hokey and Pokey. They were little, low, round fat creatures who were just adorable. When I let them out to play, their fat would just roll in the most adorable ways when they walked. They would try to follow me if I left the room and if I walked too fast for them they would both stop and squeal in the most outraged tones until I waited for them to catch up.

The little girl guinea pig was Hokey, and of course, the male was Pokey. I am not certain of what their behavior always meant, but, Hokey used to back her bottom into the corner of their cage and sit there making a low chirring noise while rolling her bottom back and forth. From the effect this had on Pokey, (he literally climbed walls and sounded as if he was crying), I suspect this was guinea pig seduction. Living on a farm, the natural behaviors of animals were just part of life and not thought remarkable or prurient in any way. Once when one of my great uncles was visiting, one of our dairy cows went into estrus. After listening to her bawl for almost 24 hours he went out to let the bull into her field.I had tagged along. When the bull was safely in and the gate locked, the cow ran straight into a small thicket to hide. Uncle will stood there with his thumbs hooked in his overall straps watching as the bull made several attempts to lure the cow out into the open. This was to be her first breeding though and in spite of the bawling she seemed doubtful about our choice of mates for her. The bull, pranced, posed, snorted and bellowed. She remained in the thicket rolling her eyes in what appeared to be fear. If the bull started to lose interest and walk away though, she resumed bawling. After observing this for a few minutes, Uncle Will said, "HHMMMPH! Women!" and we headed back to the house to let nature take it's course.