The Dead Squirrel

711 Words2 Pages

The Dead Squirrel

“There, son, see that squirrel? Pop him!”

Eric leveled the .22 at the little brown blur of fur on the branch and pulled the trigger. The butt of the rifle knocked painfully into his shoulder and the barrel went straight up after the shot, but it was still nearly dead-on, and he saw the bark on the tree disintegrate into a little cloud where the squirrel had been. His father whistled through his teeth.

“Nice shot! Great shot! I think you got his backside. Go find him.”

The boy was filled with joy at his father's approval and pride at his own shooting prowess, and ran through the dark green knee-high brush toward the tree where the squirrel had been, his green army surplus pants soaking in dew until ...

... middle of paper ...

...g animal was supposed to. Failing that, he wanted it to know he was sorry and he knew sorry wasn't even close to enough. He knew he had taken and could not give back.

The father found his son kneeling of the ground in front of the squirrel with his rifle forgotten on the ground behind him, whimpering and rocking back and forth with one hand reached out to pet the squirrel.

Open Document