Cricket money!

There's nothing like a chirping cricket outside my window to give me a thrill of delight. I'm overcome with joy, and, I must admit, with a certain amount of pure greed. I've suddenly recalled some folklore about crickets.

If you hear one it means you will come into money!

And this one is very insistent. I'm trying to keep calm about it, but I'm hoping this is a grey one, because they are the money ones. You do get black ones too, but they're sort of mean, and they tell you that you can expect to get ill, so they aren't popular.

And if they come into your house, that is crossing the line big time, and you're entitled to kill them.

Crickets are popular pets in China. They have cricket fights there.

In some countries crickets are enjoyed as deep fried snacks. But those crickets have all bases covered, because reptile pet owners order them online as raw food snacks for their cuties!

The cricket farmers make sure their crickets are given the best food, so the reptiles can be healthy. This is referred to in the trade as "gut loading." Some crickets are even given a light coating of mineral supplement before they are mailed off.

So you see, crickets are big money. And that's why they're said to attract money to whatever house they decide to go, with their repetitive, endless chirping.