This is the tale of the Crist family who worked at a zoo.
Each year they claimed to be able to predict the overall
mood of the year by watching the animals. In particular,
the gnu's who, if their ears were forward, predicted a
successful, joyous year, but it their ears were laid back flat,
predicted a sorrowful, disastrous year.
One year it was young Mary's turn to "survey" the animals and come up with the prediction. It was her first time solo, and in her excitement, she forgot to check on the gnus. Well, she botched it, predicting a bad year, when in fact it was quite good. In explanation, the next winter solstice, the local newspaper ran the following headline: ...
Mary Crist misses an happy gnu's ear!
