During the Boer War, looting on the part of the British soldiers was strictly prohibited, and in this respect the conduct of the troops left nothing to be desired. However, some of the Colonials were too keen to allow opportunities to go by without seizing them.
One morning, the colonel of a Colonial corps saw one of his men wending his way to camp, carrying in his arms a sturdy Boer cock. Halting him, the officer asked the man if he had come by the fowl honestly.
"Well, colonel," was the reply, "I just saw the old fellow sitting on a wall, and I ordered him to crow for Old England. He wouldn't, so I confiscated him for a rebel."
波爾戰爭期間，英軍嚴禁搶掠，將士也都沒有違背這禁令。不過，南非英國殖民地的軍人，有些見到機會，即不能白白放過。
一天上午，一個殖民地軍團上校看見一個士兵抱着一隻肥壯的波爾公雞回營，就把他叫住，問他是不是以誠實方法取得這隻雞。
那士兵回答說：「嗯，上校，我見到這老傢伙蹲在牆頭上，命令他為我英國啼叫，他卻不肯。我於是把這個英國叛徒沒收。」
*To leave nothing to be desired是成語，指「毫無缺點」，反義說法是to leave much to be desired，即「缺點很多」，例如：His English leaves much to be desired（他英文很差）。