Well, good news and bad news of a sort for Animal Crossing: City Folk players.

The good news is that there's a new downloadable item from Nintendo! The bad news is, it's not what I had thought or hoped it would be.

I can't say that I follow the posted updates on Nintendo too closely, so in a way, I guess this is sort of my fault. But at the same time, I love surprises, so I guess you take your lumps along with the good stuff.

Previous releases from Nintendo have seen Animal Crossing: City Folk players receive some neat stuff. The New Play Control! Pikmin release saw ACCF denizens receive a Pikmin hat, while the launch of the DSi brought forth a few varieties of benches shaped like the new handheld.

Monday of course saw the launch of New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, so when I saw Pete the Pelican postman standing outside my door, I was excited. What could it be? Maybe a shirt with a DK tie design, or perhaps a Donkey Kong barrel. Or better still, a set of DK bongos that play a brief tune from one of the games when you touch it-- how cool would that be?

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Instead, the letter revealed that Nintendo was celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week, and the gift sent was a model bus, as seen at the top of the post, based on the one Kapp'n uses to take you to the city.

I think the bus is a cool addition and all, and I certainly appreciate teachers-- the good ones, at any rate-- but I'll admit, I was let down by an unfortunate sense of timing and my own lofty expectations.

Oh well... I wonder what's coming on Flag Day.