THE oracle has spoken. Germany's octopus, which has consistently picked the winning teams ahead of matches, chose Spain as the semifinal winners.

THE oracle has spoken. Germany's octopus, which has consistently picked the winning teams ahead of matches, chose Spain as the semifinal winners.

And the Spaniards won. What a letdown for the Germans, who relied on this oracle to boost their chances of success. They always released the predictions ahead of matches to psychologically terrorise their opponents.

The octopus was more accurate, more truthful and fearless than South Africa's traditional seers, who told the public what they wanted to hear.

Now the Germans tell us the oracle sometimes lies. What a blue lie. We are afraid that the poor octopus' accuracy will be rewarded by a speedy toss into the cooking pot. Instead of a life of celebrity, the oracle will end up in someone's dish out of pure German vindictiveness.

Surely the oracle deserves a reprieve until it predicts the winners on Sunday.