Mac 1, Tale 2

Mac 1 was resident in the shop for many years. He quickly became part of shop life and a real character to boot. He had a large stand to sit on inside the shop which when the weather was good we put outside. He just loved sitting up and talking to passers by. The more attention he got the more he liked it. He could spot a camera from yards away and would shout until the photographer obliged by taking a snap. He just loved having his photo taken. He would pose like a model. Walking this way and that along his perch and then spreading his wings right out so the photographer could get him at just the right angle. He loved to frighten people by creeping up on them from behind, and after a few near misses we decided to elevate his perch to higher up above the shop door. In that way he was safe the poking fingers of inquisitive customers and passers by were safe from a snapping beak. A round hut was designed complete with thatched roof and a perch that protruded out from its front door and placed just above the main shop entrance. This was Macs daytime home. If the weather was showery he would sit inside and occasionally poke his head out to shout at his regular visitors. If the weather was sunny he would sit outside his front door and preen himself in the warm sunshine, then give a cheery 'hello' to anyone passing by underneath. This would often shock people and their pets especially dogs who would not know what to think. He had regular admirers too, both human and canine whom he knew. And as they often walked past him at the same time of day he would wait for them and give each one of them a different shout. 'Morning', 'Hi'. 'Bye bye' - 'sit boy'! Or what ever he associated the person or dog with.
But best of all Mac liked hats. Hats were great fun to Mac. The bigger the hat the better. He just loved trying to reach them, by hanging upside down from his perch. But because of the height of his house he usually did not succeed. One day was different. The shop is situated on a thoroughfare that leads to our Registry office, and often during the Spring and Summer there are weddings. Of course many people have to walk past the shop in all their finery. Including ladies in very posh hats! Mac, no matter how hard he tried he could not get close enough to 'have a go'. But one day a tall Lady walked under him wearing a hat with a very large feather that was stuck out of the top. Well, I guess you can imagine what happened next. The feather was grabbed, and because it was glued onto the hat the hat came off too and was dragged straight into Macs hut where he proceeded to shred the material and the lining and play with the feather. Cue one very irate lady into the shop to the sound of Mac chuckling to himself while enjoying his catch. After some considerable time I calmed the lady down and agreed to replace the hat. Nearly in tears she walked out of the shop only to see Mac sitting at the end of his perch with bits of material from the hat wrapped around him and a large feather in his claw. To make matters worse he was laughing at the top of his voice and posing because just at that moment someone had decided to take a picture.