I Want Something in a Cage

Mr Purcell owned a pet shop full of cats, dogs, monkeys and caged birds. Constant squeals and cheeps filled the shop but he seemed not to hear them.

Mr Purcell, small and fussy with an owl-like gaze, ran a professional pet shop selling animals, bird seed and gilded cages. Movement and noise filled the shelves, yet customers found it cute and Purcell smiled and shook his head.

Each morning Purcell read the newspaper on a high stool, smirking at news while the shop's noise seemed like a familiar clock tick he ignored.

After opening, Purcell perched on a stool, unfolded his paper and digested news - lovelorn columns and ads included - while chirping and squeaking vibrated around him unheard.

One cold morning the door bell failed to ring yet a stranger stood inside. Purcell felt the man hated him though he smiled and asked what he wanted.

On a frosty day the bell did not jingle; the stranger simply appeared. Instinct told Purcell the man hated him, yet habit made him rub his hands and beam a good morning.

The man wanted something small in a cage that flies - not rats. He chose two white doves but had only five dollars. Purcell reduced the price.

The customer demanded 'something in a cage' with wings. He pointed to snowy doves priced five-fifty; crestfallen, he offered five dollars. Purcell magnanimously accepted.

The man said the caged noise drives you crazy. He had earned five dollars in ten years of hard labour - fifty cents a year - and got a cheap suit on release.

The stranger blurted that caged noise maddens him while Purcell heard nothing. He laughed that ten years' hard labour earned five dollars and freedom brought a cheap suit and a warning not to get caught again.

Purcell tried to explain dove care but the man left. Outside he opened the cage and tossed both doves into the smoky sky, then dropped the cage and shuffled away.

Purcell offered feeding advice; the man stalked out. At the window Purcell saw him free one dove, then the second - fluff rising into grey winter air - drop the cage, and leave with hands in pockets.

Purcell muttered why the man bought doves only to loose them. He felt vaguely insulted though he never understood the prisoner's longing for freedom.

The merchant's brow puckered. The man had wanted doves desperately, then immediately released them. 'Now why did he do that?' Purcell felt vaguely insulted, blind to the symbolism of cages.