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page 6
daily nebraskan Christmas supplement
friday, december 8, 1978
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v ) CO P
fr& c o b
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Sill J03i 1 JiiPHIMIB I"WIIIII IC T fi"H
Come in and let profes
sionals help outfit you
for America's fastest
growing court sport.
We've got a full line of
racquets to fit your
game and your pocket
book. Plus, the latest
exciting fashions for
on and off the court.
Come in and see us .
your game deserves
the best.
Professional Stringing
of all racquets available
Wm
A partridge in a pear tree
By Mary Fastenau
If you don't want swans swimming in
your bathtub, parrots and 23 musicians
competing witli your stereo, 19 people
dancing over your desk and a bird that
sits in a tree without moving, the gift of
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is not for
yu-
But just for kicks, what would the gift
cost? With a few modern substitutions
around $8581.92.
Tunes have changed since the advent of
the Christmas favorite "The Twelve Days
of Christmas" and so have the prices.
The $8581.92 price tag cannot be
regarded as undisputable because the song
is not specific in its gift descriptions.
For example, how would you buy a
"lord leaping" or a "piper piping?" Along
with a change in time, there appears to be a
change in vernacular. And there have
not been many lords doing their thing in
Lincoln.
Another problem is that the song
fails to say if the dancers and the musicians
are professional or amateur. The phrase,
"twelve professional drummers drum
ming," might not have fit with the melody
line, but it would have made obtaining the
price list much easier.
The birds also lack clear definition.
There are no breed specifications on any
of the birds, and prices vary according to
pedigree.
For example, the partridge is mentioned
12 times during the song, and not once do
they say if it is albino, buff or normal. It
is not even clear if the swan is an endan
gered species or not.
If that is not enough, there is also con
cern the price list should include the cows
so the maids have something to milk or
drums so the drummers have something to
pound or instruments so the pipers do
more than stand around. It would appear
that a "maid a milking" would not be
worth much without a cow, but the song
doesn't say that.
Juggling all of these factors and always
looking for the bargains, the $8581.92
figure was obtained. It includes profes
sional dancers and pipers and amateur
drummers and leapers. It is also figured
without cows or drums or pipes, but with
frozen French hens.
If you would prefer the gifts, instead of
the money, the bill for the first day would
be $19.75.
For convenience the pear tree would be
a potted Bartlett pear tree four to five feet
high, according to the owner of a Lincoln
nursery.
The partridge, which lists for $10,
would be a normal chukars partridge, Kim
Meyer, an attendant at Ager Memorial
Zoo said. If you want to get the more ex
pensive variety, she said the albino variety
lists for $25 and the buff for $35.
Meyer also said the bottom price on
doves for the second day would be $5 for
a white or a ring neck dove. The total price
tag for that day would only be $10.
French hens are not popular around
Lincoln, but Cornish hens are, especially
when they are packaged and frozen,
according to the owner of a Lincoln gro
cery store.
He said Cornish hens are currently on
sale at $1 .39 for the 22 ounce size, making
day three the least expensive at $4.17.
Calling birds are also subject to a few
definition problems. Parrot would appear
to be the modern day counterpart and they
sell for $38 at a local pet store.
An employee said that $38 would buy a
"love bird" with green and pink feathers
making the figure for the day $152. If
Christmas is your time to splurge, she said
the store also has parrots that sell for $99.
The fifth day presents another problem
because it is the only day where the song
slows down and emphasizes the gifts. If
you want to emphasize the day with wide
golden rings, each would sell for $250, but
if you just wnat to acknowledge the day, a
thin band would cost about $55, according
to a local jeweler.
Since economy has been the motivating
fact or in other days, the less expensive
band was included in the figure, making
the day cost $275.
If you want the geese to be laying at
the time of arrival, they will cost about
$15 apiece. There is also the possibility of
buying goslings for $2.70 to $2.80 and
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
f f WITH POSTER &
K Album produced by Quincy Jones for Mfr. List Price $14,98 W
Q"- SALE S9." I
8 Fr, musicland I
f? A MOTOWN PRODUCTION T ; 4ifeM The Atrium 12th & N )f
A UNIVERSAL PICTURE IN-J S!2 S
122 IU. 12th
475-3446
