K is for Kiwis . . . these Kiwis don't fly!

With more Kiwis coming in the next few days I thought I'd better get these out of the woodwork first, they are - after all - the original kiwis! Small, flightless, egg-laying birds from the antipodean islands of New Zealand . . . or are they . . . the last of the Dinosaurs?

There is a sorry story around this one; many, many moons ago, most of a lifetime ago to be accurate, my brother and I were given real-fur toys of a koala and a kiwi - mementos of someone's trip to that part of the world , the koala survives - albeit a bit moth-eaten - somewhere, but the kiwi got burnt.

We had a little friend round (we were five or six?) for a visit and while the parents were in the next room it was decided (I have no memory of the level of democracy employed, nor the logical processes ruling the debate) that 'Kiwi' should go on the fire, and he duly did. At which point my brother, feeling more empathy than the other chap or myself (and being youngest) burst into tears - death does that to little people.

The upshot was that that the grown-ups decided it must be my fault, and a favorite bear followed the kiwi to Valhalla (that's the story now, anyway - I don't recall a bear going missing at that time, and parents aren't that cruel, are they?).

Now I remember the thing being twice the size of this one and having a longer beak, but I was less than half the size I am now, so I suspect A) it was smaller than I remember, and B) that this (charity-shop 50p's-worth) is the same toy.

It's ridged, like a taxidermists' sample rather than a soft-toy (as the koala is) and the beak and feet seem to be composition (probably on a wire former), I have no idea what fur is used (rabbit I hope, otherwise it'll be some other local species probably now as endangered as kiwis!), and I think the black stripe down the back is a dye/stained addition.

I also have a PVC-type all-plastic one in the style of Zowies (still in the queue!), but branded to Stewarts-SSS of China.

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On the subject of Kiwis, I'm deliberately posting (Kiwis that flew) late tomorrow (this coming-Monday), as I'm posting in two places - linked - the updated post would ruin the surprise of the scheduled post, were I to do them now, so I'll do them late on Monday and leave them up for a day or two as I'm off to the London Toy Fair on Tuesday.