Fur Ball

Lester Robinson told me this story shortly before he died at the age of ninety four. He said, "Peggy and Donald O'Niel lived in a cute little house by the sea in Ireland. On their second wedding anniversary they remained childless, and Donald let it be known to his neighbors he was looking for a nice pet to keep Peggy from being lonely during the long days Donald spent away from the house working. Donald knew his wife was not fond of dogs or cats, and he himself was not particularly fond of pigs or other barn-yard animals, so he didn't really quite know what he was looking for."

"On a business trip to London, Donald O'Niel entered a pet shop that boasted unusual pets. The salesman showed him a cute baby animal called a rary. The salesman said the rary was a new breed of pets imported from South America. The baby rary he had for sale was the size of a baby rabbit. It was covered with soft brown fur, had beautiful brown eyes, a small nose and mouth, and no legs. The salesman said the rary would make a perfect house pet because it could never run away. He placed the rary on the floor on a rug. The little animal just rolled around happily on the rug for a little while, then rested and allowed Donald to pet it."

"Donald immediately fell in love with the baby fur ball and took it home and gave it to Peggy who was thrilled with the unusual little animal. The pet ate grass which was plentiful around their house. The little guy was clean and not smelly, so they kept him in the living room."

"The rary grew quickly and was soon as big as a cat, then it grew to the size of a large dog. It kept the same shape like a fur ball and was nice and soft to pet, but when it grew to the size of a large horse, Peggy and Donald decided the giant had to be disposed of. Donald rented a large truck and hired some young men to help roll the animal from the house onto the bed of the truck, and they drove to a place looking over the White Cliffs Of Dover. The large rary was rolled to the very edge of the cliff. They were about to push him over the edge and get rid of him when the animal looked over the steep cliff and sang out, 'It's a Long Way To Tip-A-Rary!'"