Great tray robbery
Every morning, Archie Nightingale jumps out of bed and runs to check on his chickens.
There are 20, and on a good day, they lay more than a dozen eggs.
The five-year-old carefully packs the eggs into boxes, and with his mum, takes them to his roadside stall on State Highway 6, near the Whangamoa Saddle, north of Nelson.
At $4 for 10 free range eggs or $5 for a dozen, they’re a bargain. ‘‘We sell heaps,’’ he said.
But his savings took a hit last week when his stall was targeted by thieves.
When Archie went to collect the earnings from the 70 eggs he’d placed in the stall that morning, he found just $1.30 in the honesty box.
‘‘I thought I was going to get $100,’’ he said.
‘‘Well, not really,’’ his mum Bonnie corrected. ‘‘There should have been $29.’’
The family sold eggs last year with no problems, Nightingale said. They’d just started selling again when the thieves struck.
‘‘I’m disappointed,’’ she said. ‘‘People don’t know it’s him and not me selling the eggs.’’ Archie also felt let down.
‘‘I felt angry because they have to pay $4.’’
He was saving for a trip to Hanmer, to hunt chamois goats.
Almost every day, the little boy goes on pretend hunting excursions in the bush by his home with his dog, Sam. ‘‘He’s a mad hunter,’’ Nightingale said.
Archie knows saving for such a trip will take him a while.
‘‘It’s going to take about 16 days,’’ he calculated.
Despite the setback, Nightingale said Archie would keep selling. ‘‘It happens everywhere. We’re not put off.’’
As well as tending his chickens, Archie does odd jobs around the house and farm.
‘‘It teaches him about money, and he’s quite good at saving,’’ Nightingale said.
Archie currently has 50 cents in his wallet, he said. He’s planning to spend it on toys for him and his younger siblings.
The little boy had a message for anyone thinking of flouting the time-honoured honesty box system.
‘‘If someone doesn’t pay enough money, they’ll have to come to me.’’
And he had strong language to describe the egg thieves. ‘‘You’re a piece of fish.’’