Picking
Berries
At
the end of the summer I went to the country side with my family in
order pick berries in the forest. The forest by the farm house was
full of green grapes. They grew in great heaps between the trees and
bushes.
We
went to the woods with baskets in our hands. The season had just begun
so we were in a hurry to pick the berries before the ducks would eat
them.
We
ran after a flock of ducks. The ducks hoovered the forest like a machine
leaving behind empty bushes. Individual grapes here and there could
still be picked, but it was impossible to outrun the ducks. They walked
so fast that even if I had caught them I couldn't have managed to
pick grapes while running.
The
only way to get the grapes would be first to run faster than the ducks
and then tear the bushes from the ground with roots and all. But this
was severely prohibited by international laws and agreements.
A
group of Russians were in the farm. They had managed to pick heaps
of grapes, so they showed their catch to their prime minister Vladimir
Putin. Putin said Russia followed the international laws. But he argued
that everyone knew that due to the ducks it was impossible to grab
the grapes without tearing the bushes from the ground; that's why
Russia deemed it fit to do as it pleased. He added that in the future
Russia might resign from outdated berry-picking agreements. In such
circumstances, I concluded, possibly Finland, too, should reconsider
its berry legislation.
