A Fairy Tale that we should have been told as kids
Mood:  hungry
I am busy playing catch-up from taking two days of and then being out of the office for most of the week. So I don't have time today to write a proper entry. So instead I decided to leave you with a fairy tale my mother passed on to me as well as an news article my sister posted on her blog about a new scam sweeping Japan. But first...the fairy tale.

Once upon a time in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

A frog hopped onto the princess' lap and said: "Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am and then, my sweet, we can marry and set up housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so.

That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sauteed frog legs seasoned in a white wine
and onion cream sauce, she chuckled and thought to herself: I don't freakin' think so.


SCAM Alert. I just want you all to be informed so that you won't fall victim to this scam.

Japanese fooled in poodle scam
April 26, 2007 - 8:59PM


Thousands of Japanese have been swindled in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles. Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each. That is a snip compared to a real poodle which retails for twice that much in Japan.

The scam was uncovered when Japanese movie star Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food. She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep. Then hundreds of other women got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep.
One couple said they became suspicious when they took their "dog" to have its claws trimmed and were told it had hooves. Japanese police believe there could be 2,000 people affected by the scam, which operated in Sapporo and capitalized on the fact that sheep are rare in Japan, so many do not know what they look like.

"We launched an investigation after we were made aware that a company was selling sheep as poodles," Japanese police said. The Sun reported. "Sadly we think there is more than one company operating in this way.” The sheep are believed to have been imported from overseas - Britain, Australia."

Many of the sheep have now been donated to zoos and farms.


I hope you all had a good laugh. Happy Friday!