Do animals have emotions (情感)? My wife and I disagree about this question. We disagree about other things too, but those are not things I want to talk about in this article. The question I want to talk about is "Do animals have emotions?" Have I already said that? Oh yes, it's in the title. Never mind. I don't think animals have emotions, but my wife thinks they do have emotions. In fact, I think my wife thinks that animals do have emotions, but I don't. Oh dear, this is very confusing.

In our house we have the following pets: three lizards, a cat, three chickens and a rabbit. Actually, the chickens and the rabbit live in the garden, not in the house. The lizards don't laugh, the cat doesn't cry, the chickens don't smile and the rabbit doesn't shout, so how can they have emotions? I have told sad stories to the lizards, but they never cry. I have told jokes to the cat, but it never laughs. I have given beer to the chickens, but they don't smile. I have told the rabbit to his face that he is stupid, but he doesn't get angry. On the other hand, the cat gets angry when I pull its tail, the chickens look scared when I run after them, the lizards fight each other if I don't give them enough food and the rabbit kicks me when I try to pick him up. So perhaps they do have emotions. But these aren't real emotions; they are just animal instinct (本能). 

In England, people even think that different animals have different characters. They say, for example, that lions are brave, dogs are loyal and cats are independent. But it's easy to be brave when you are the biggest animal in the forest, and would dogs be so loyal if they could use a tin (罐头) opener? Perhaps cats are just too stupid to work together. If I am feeling sad, the cat, the lizards, the rabbit and the chickens never do anything to help me. They never give me a word of advice. They don't even make me a cup of tea, which is what people often do if someone is feeling sad. If you want me to believe that animals have emotions, send me a photo of a chicken crying.