Erica's life dream has always been to be a zookeeper, and with that in mind, she enrolled in every animal-related course she could find at her college. Finally, in senior year, she only had one test left for her final class - Ornithology.
When Erica entered the exam hall, she saw that her usual professor wasn't there. Instead, there was a stranger at the head of the room. Behind him was a table with five lumpy shapes, each under a white drop cloth.
"Good morning, class" said the man at the front of the room. "Professor Douglas couldn't be here today, so she asked me to proctor her exam for you. Today's test is, as you know, worth thirty percent of your final grade. You must identify each of these taxidermy mounts of birds. You have thirty minutes. Begin."
An awkward silence echoed in the hall for a moment or two, before one student called out, "Ummm... aren't you going to uncover the birds?"
The substitute looked down at his clipboard for a moment, then shook his head. "There's nothing in the instructions she left me about uncovering them. You'll just have to do the best you can with what you can see. Good luck."
Well, Erica tried her best, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make out a single bird. They were all completely hidden under the sheets, with only the feet visible under the cloth. One had webbed feet. Was that a duck? A loon? A grebe? Her grade was on the line, but she was stuck. So was everyone else.
Well, twenty five minute had passed and no one in the room had gotten a single bird. Finally, in desperation, Erica pushed out of her desk, grabbed her paper, and marched to the front of the room. She yanked the cloth off of each of the five birds. As soon as she did, she recognized them easily. She wrote them down quickly, as did all of her classmates. Soon, every student had their test done and in a pile at the front of the room and was hurrying out the door.
Erica was about halfway out of the building when the substitute called after you. "Hey, you! You can't do that! You're in big trouble young lady! What's your name?"
Erica turned briefly, then lifted one leg up and pulled her pant leg up a few inches. Pointing at her foot, she called back, "You tell me buddy! You tell me!" Then she disappeared out the door.
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