Scrapings

I spent that day listening to the lonely scrapings of a pen. During that time, from time to time, I heard a Java sparrow twittering. It occurred to me that maybe Java sparrows twitter out of loneliness too. I walked out to the veranda to see. Nevertheless, flying to and fro between two perches busily and incessantly, it did not show the slightest hint of grievance.

To determine the cause of the dog's extreme itchiness, the veterinarian checked a couple of skin scrapings under a microscope. After finding mange-causing mites, she prescribed an appropriate treatment.

They recruited 10 volunteers to donate samples of their skin bacteria, and the volunteers had skin scrapings taken from 20 different locations on their bodies.