Animal Meeting
All of the animals of the world were invited to a grand meeting, arranged by the humans. Promoted as being the largest ever forum between all living creatures to ever take place, not a single animal failed to accept and nominate a representative, for they all feared that never again would such an opportunity to argue for basic rights for all animals ever present itself.
On the day of the meeting, an hour before sunrise, the animals began to arrive. A lone chicken was the first to turn up. Featherless and beakless, the chicken wore a stern expression and refused to lift her wings. A cow, a pig and a sheep were the next to arrive. All three were very noisy – none could contain their excitement at what today promised.
The animals waited outside a great hall in which the meeting was to be held. On the front was a sign that simply read “The Grand Meeting House”. As the sun rose, the animals began to pour in. A dog and a cat strode up next, and then a monkey, an elephant, a lion, a mouse, a seal, a duck, a whale, a fox, a polar bear, a rabbit, a lobster, an ape and a horse.
Soon, there were hundreds of animals outside the Grand Meeting House, eagerly waiting for the doors to be opened and for the forum to begin. The general chatter was lively. The mood was impassioned and all were united by their common cause. Even the chicken found herself letting her guard down a bit, at one point letting out a small laugh. The weather too made for a pleasant sunny morning and all were very grateful for it.
With less than 5 minutes until the start of the meeting, the last of the animals arrived. There was not a single absence. The attendees, by now too many to count, were a fiery but peaceful lot. Some had speeches prepared, others had posters to display and a few, like the chicken, simply had themselves to show.
The final animal to arrive was a lone man, dressed in a suit and carrying a suitcase. Many of the animals made a lot of noise as he approached the door, opened it and led a procession into the great hall. Within minutes, all of the animals were crammed inside – there was hardly room to breathe and move, but every one looked eagerly towards the stage as the man began to speak.
‘Welcome to this historic meeting!’ he began, ‘It is a great delight to see you all here today. Now, above all else this meeting will provide you all with a chance to speak your minds. Before we continue however, please excuse me for a minute while I go make one final preparation for today.’
Without saying another word, the man stepped down from the podium and walked through the crowd of animals and towards the exit. All the animals watched intensely as they witnessed him disappear through the large doors, which he quickly shut behind him. All of the animals expressed the same two emotions of fear and horror after what happened next: from the door there came a loud clicking sound.
Outside, the man chuckled. He then proceeded to remove a makeshift addition to the signage that adorned the great hall’s front.
The true name of the meeting place could now be read:
The Grand Slaughter House.
The End
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Originally Posted by JacobF
