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diff --git a/src/md/27_A_Critter_in_the_House.md b/src/md/27_A_Critter_in_the_House.md deleted file mode 100644 index 0ba3966..0000000 --- a/src/md/27_A_Critter_in_the_House.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,102 +0,0 @@ ---- -title: A Critter in the House ---- - -Life Lesson: Compassion and Forgiveness are better than anger. - -This story happened in the Maine house, probably about 1996. As far as -I can remember, I was the only person at home, which was a very rare -occasion. I could be just making it all up because I have no -corroborating witnesses, but I swear it really happened. - -I was upstairs in the bedroom at the time and I heard a lot of -commotion going on in another room. It sounded like the patter of little -feet that were running very fast. There were two sets of footsteps, like -something was chasing something else. It seemed to start in an upstairs -bedroom and then I could tell the chase proceeded down the stairs at -breakneck speed, much faster than any human could go. Alarmed, I started -walking down the stairs to try to figure out what kind of skirmish was -ensuing in my house and causing such a ruckus. As I neared the bottom of -the stairs, I caught a glimpse of our cat. She was racing as fast as she -could go to catch up to a critter of some kind. They were tearing all -around the house, under the furniture, out to the kitchen and back to -the living room. I could only stand at the bottom of the stairs and -watch dumb-founded as the race continued. Finally, as the running -animals neared where I was standing, the cat caught up with the critter -and it looked like a ball of fur with a few tails sticking out. It was -just like I used to see in cartoons when a dog and a cat were fighting. -I had no idea what to do to save the poor little critter that our cat -was determined to vanquish, so I just held my stupefied gaze. - -Suddenly, the cat popped out of the ball of fur and landed on her feet -stone-still. The other critter was now on its back, also stone-still, -with its feet pointing skyward. It was almost like the cat called -time-out so the two could catch their breath before the next round of -the battle. Now I could see that the victim the cat was chasing was a -flying squirrel. It was a beautiful little creature with snow-white -under fur, a brown back and long brown tail. The cat was looking up at -me as if to say, "Look what I flushed out of the shadows in our house, -but don't worry, I got this!" I looked down at the little beastie with -sympathy. I thought the cat must have killed it because it wasn't -moving. I reached down and picked it up by the tail. I took a few steps -over to the front entry door and opened it to set the creature down on -the landing of the front steps. The squirrel was still acting quite -dead, not moving a muscle. However, before I had a chance to let go of -its tail, the squirrel called time-in. Much to my amazement, he was able -to swing his body up and sink his teeth into the fleshy tip of my thumb, -which was still pinching the end of his tail. - -Now, my reaction time was many times slower than that of the squirrel, -but when the message finally arrived at my brain about 15 milliseconds -later, panic took over. I jerked my hand back, but the squirrel was -still attached to it. Next, I flung my hand away, trying to dislodge the -little critter who seemed determined to hang on for dear life. This -time, however, it worked and the squirrel let go. He landed on the -threshold of the open front door. I quickly slammed the door closed to -prevent the squirrel from coming back in. Thinking the ordeal was over, -I examined my thumb to assess the damage. I went back upstairs to clean -the wound and finish dressing. - -About five minutes later, I came back down the stairs. I had a band-aid -on my thumb, but my indignation and mental state were still somewhat -inflamed. At the bottom of the stairs, I found the cat near the closed -front door. She was intently staring at the spot where the squirrel had -landed on the threshold of the door. Then I heard a faint skritch, -skritch on the other side of the door. I waited a moment and listened -intently. There it was again, an unmistakable scratching noise coming -from the other side of the door. I thought to myself, "Seriously! Is -that crazy squirrel still trying to invade my house to even the score -with the mean old cat?" I went through the kitchen to go out the side -door. I wanted to go around to the front door from the outside to see -what the squirrel was up to. - -Sure enough, there he was clawing and gnawing at the front door. Upon -closer inspection, I realized he wasn't trying to get back in my house. -His foot was securely caught between the door and the threshold -weather-stripping. He was merely trying to free himself and get the heck -out of Dodge. He was terrified as I approached and tried with renewed -desperation to dislodge his foot. - -My first thought was to find a big stick and put the miserable little -beast out of its misery. After all, he had caused me quite a fright and -I could get rabies or Ebola or some other terrible disease from the bite -he gave me. But now he was in my power. It was the perfect opportunity -to get my revenge. - -Fortunately, that first urge didn't last long. As I watched his -desperation, my heart softened and I realized that he was just a poor -little critter that wanted to get back to his home in the forest. Maybe -it was a mother squirrel that had little babies to take care of or -perhaps it was a young squirrel that didn't know that humans and cats -were bad news. I opened the door just enough for it to remove its foot -and skitter away. - -As I watched it run with a bit of a limp into the forest, my anger -melted away. I then realized that compassion was a much better emotion -than anger or desire for revenge. I felt my peace restored and a great -relief that the poor little fellow was once again free to live his -simple life in the forest. I hoped that the contrast between the two -emotions would help me make the same choice the next time I felt that I -had been wronged by someone else. Compassion for my fellow men and -forgiveness for their human weaknesses will always be the better -choice. |