Scrit and Scrap were known for their antics–not that it was an unusual thing to see a squirrel or two dashing across the street. But these two had made a game out of it.
“You’re gonna get yourselves killed,” the old squirrel would say. Mr. Acorn was always just there to annoy them. They never listened to him though.
Scrit was on his mark and awaiting the next vehicle. “I think I see one coming!”
Scrap was on the opposite side of the street. He could see the sedan on its way. “Yep!” shouted the friend. “It’s heading your way a little faster than the other ones! Better not screw it up!”
“I’m ready! I’m ready!” the eager squirrel shouted in return. He had only done this a few time. He wanted to be like one of the all-time greatest chicken dashers, like the great Chipper Scram Scram the Third. Some even said that the famous squirrel had moved up to the four- and five-lane highways.
As the sedan was nearly about to fly on past, Scrit bolted across the street. The driver slammed on the brakes and turned sharply to the left. Scrit could actually feel the car passing just behind him as he jumped up onto the other side of the street. He screamed, “What a rush!” Scrap took him by the paws and the two danced in a circle to celebrate the close call.
Mr. Acorn scurried up to the two idiots. He gruffly cleared his throat and said, “It almost ran him straight over! Are you both out of your minds?!”
The two younger squirrels blew a raspberry at him. Scrap said, “You have no idea what it’s like to have fun.”
Mr. Acorn replied, “I know what its like to grow old. If you two keep this up, that’s one thing you’ll never get to see.”
Scrit was not really interested in what he had to say. “I heard that one time a squirrel got one of them cars to go right off the road. If that happens to me, I’ll be famous!”
The old squirrel sighed and shook his head. As he returned to his tree, he was reminded of the time that he did silly things like that. What on earth was he thinking?
Scrap got prepared for his turn. A blue-colored minivan was coming down the road pretty fast. “You got to time it just right for these big ones. If just one tire hits, it’s all over.”
“Are you scared?” asked the newcomer.
“Nah. I do this all the time. Just keep practicing, and someday, you’ll be just as cool as me.”
“I wanna be cool,” said Scrit with a face that oozed a lust for fame.
At just the last moment, Scrap dashed out into the street. The minivan made no attempt to stop like the sedan; however, the squirrel still made it to the other side in one piece. He shouted, “Piece of cake!”
Scrit excitedly took his mark. “I’m not gonna be afraid! I’m gonna be the best!”
“That’s the spirit! And here comes one now!”
Scrit hopped up and down out of pure excitement. The truck was moving pretty fast. How cool would it be if he could get it to plow right into one of the houses? That would be hilarious!
Trying to time it just right, Scrit dashed back out into the street; however, he suddenly stopped half way and fell onto his belly. The truck passed on by.
Scrap covered his mouth in shock. Scrit peered up at his friend and asked, “Why did I stop?”
Scrap pointed. “Your tail! Look at your tail?”
Scrit looked back. His tail was completely flattened into the pavement. He was just in too much shock to feel it. He whined, “I can’t move! I’m stuck to the road! Scrap, come help me!”
“I can’t! There’s another one coming!”
“But I can’t move! Scrap!”
“I can’t!”
“Scrap!”
Scrap covered his eyes and heard the resulting thump, thump of a car running over his friend. After taking a peek through his fingers, it was now painfully evident that his friend had been smashed into the asphalt.
He took a moment and just gawked at the scene. The poor kid; he just wanted to be famous. However, after a few moments, the squirrel suddenly asked himself, “Now, who the heck am I gonna play with?!”
-Author Notes-
Sometimes adulthood is the only thing that can
save a kid. This parable shows how children tend to act on impulse rather than
good judgment. The sad thing is that some people never really grow up; I’ve
seen adults do things just as bad.
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