'I can't wait till you've bred all the peahens to it,' his sister said. 'I can't wait till you take them to the Aphrodite and sail far, far away with them.' 'It won't be long,' Sostratos said. 'Now that ships are starting to put in to our harbor, Menedemos grudges every day the galley stays here.' 'I'll miss you,' Erinna told him. 'But I won't miss these miserable, obnoxious birds at all.' The peafowl she'd chased from the herb garden sidled back toward the plants, undoubtedly hoping she'd forgotten about it. Forgetting about a bird that big wasn't easy, though. Erinna flapped the cloth again, and the peafowl drew back. Sostratos would have taken oath he saw anger in the bird's beady black eyes. He said, 'You don't have to watch the garden yourself, you know. You could set a slave woman to doing it.' 'I tried that yesterday,' Erinna said darkly. 'She paid more attention to her mug of wine than to the peahens, and we'll go short of garlic for a while - either that or get some from people whose gardens just have snails or caterpillars, not these, these - goats with feathers, that's what they are.' Before Sostratos could answer, the peacock next door let out its blatting cry again. Dogs in the neighborhood started barking. They'd been yapping their heads off every since the peafowl came to Sostratos and Menedemos' houses. The birds probably smelled like a banquet to them, and the peacock especially made enough noise to remind them he was around even when the wind blew from the wrong quarter. Another horrible noise came from next door, followed by some equally horrible curses. 'Hades stuff you with olives and boil you in a saucepan!' Menedemos shouted. 'Roast you over a low fire! May your peahens give you the bird clap, so you can't pee through your peacock cock!' Erinna giggled. Sostratos felt more inclined to applaud. That wasn't Aristophanes, but it almost could have been. Then Menedemos shouted again, this time in pain. Sostratos didn't need to be able to see through the walls between them to be sure the peacock had had its revenge. He wondered whether it had kicked or pecked. Peafowl were formidable at both ends - and with their buffeting wings - as the luckless sailor who'd chased the peacock had discovered to his sorrow. Erinna said, 'You really should have kept Menedemos from buying these pestilential birds.' Sostratos tossed his head. 'Once Menedemos sets his heart on doing something, the twelve Olympians couldn't stop him. He'll go far - you mark my words. Of course, he may have to go pretty fast, too, to stay in front of all the husbands he's outraged.' 'Oh.' Erinna had to flap her cloth at the peahen yet again. Sostratos hoped that would distract her, but it didn't. After forcing the bird to retreat, she said, 'Is that really true? About Menedemos, I mean.' 'Some of it is, anyhow,' Sostratos answered. His sister clicked her tongue between her teeth. 'Respectable women have to make do with a leather sausage if their husbands don't please them. Men can have all the women they want. It hardly seems fair for them to go after wives when they could dip their wicks with slaves and whores.'
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