This morning, as I was enjoying a quiet moment helping Émilie with her writing assignment, we were rudely interrupted with a desperate cry for help from the next room.
“Mama! There’s something in Boaz’ Mater truck!”
Now, Boaz likes to hide things under the seat of said truck, and the child declaring the emergency is well-known for being a little bit over-dramatic. Imagining a moldy peanut butter sandwich, I asked, “What is it?”
With a bit of trembling in her voice, “I don’t know.”
“Is it alive?”
“I think so!”
At this point, I determined that the situation might just need my attention, so I went to confront whatever-it-may-be. The worrisome child explained that she heard something moving under Mater’s seat. A gentle nudge followed by a flutter assured me that there was, indeed, something moving about in there. What could it be? Critters are only a little terrifying when I can see them and know what they’re doing. When they’re hiding under a lid with a hole in it, terror reaches new levels.
We had options to consider. It could be that a mouse climbed in through that hole. The Mater truck spends a fair amount of time being ridden outside, and sometimes doesn’t come in for the night. Could a wild beast be in there? A chipmunk? Or a SNAKE? None of the possibilities seemed to warrant opening the thing inside my house. Whatever-it-may-be might escape, causing me to have to sell the house and all it’s contents. No. The thing to do was to get it outside. But how to accomplish that? I thought about tying a rope around the handle and dragging it out. The potential for aggravated escape seemed too great. Instead, I thought it wise to throw a sheet over it and gently carry it out.
This worked pretty well, though I must admit that I did drop it once in a bit of a fright. I deposited it on the porch , whisked away the sheet, and, with a swift kick, sent it sailing through the air.
We held our breaths, anticipating the revelation of the mysterious inhabitant of Mater’s inner cavity. Imagine our surprise when we discovered not one, but two wiggly little…
Bathtub toys!
Oh, that all our enemies could be so easily vanquished!
Ewer Thoughts (no pennies required) 