Have You Heard The One About The Fish, The Cat And The Parrot?

The pointer to the story promises evil landlords who would take away a family's fish. So does the headline and the intro:

Family faces eviction over pet fish

A FAMILY has been told to get rid of their pet fish - or face the threat of eviction.

Useful word, fish - it's an irregular noun of which the singular is the same as the plural:

Fiona and Rick, who asked that their surname not be published, and their three children were shocked when their landlord issued a notice saying they were in breach of their tenancy agreement because they had a tank with 15 South American fish in it.

Ah, so it's not a single goldfish circling a bowl, it's a tank with 15 fish.

But wait - there's more. Fiona, Rick and their three kids aren't the only ones who like fish plural:

The couple admit they broke their agreement by getting a cat... and have given it away.

Well ok, they did the wrong thing and fobbed off the feline. Come on, you evil letting agent - what's a few hundred litres of stinky water on the living room carpet between landlord and tenants?

Oh, hang on:

But Fiona says the demand to get rid of the fish and their son's pet parrot is heartless and ridiculous.

The cat must be cheesed off too.

The Tenants Union of Queensland says the case is a sign of the times...

Yes, those times in which one wilfully breaks a contract multiple times then cries hard done by with support from lobby groups, the RSPCA and the media (though one suspects journalist Daryl Passmore is actually 'having a lend' of the Tenants Union's rental property crisis poster kids).

Fiona said... "We never thought for a moment that a fish tank would not be allowed. It's just a joke."

No, it's called a lease.

Honestly, you couldn't make early 21st century western society up.

-- Nick