We caught froggy. We put froggy out of direct sunlight. We showed froggy to Mama when she got home and even caught a small moth to feed him. Then it was time to let him go, because we don't keep wild things for our enjoyment permanently. Cue the wailing and gnashing of teeth from Sirs Eddie and Chas.
So we caved. We kept him overnight. And I checked on him the next mid-morning. Fine. The plan was to release him to the wild that evening. Sadly, froggy didn't make it. Shortly before Steph came home I checked again and it looked like he was swimming. Cute. Until I jiggled the habitat and realized he was actually just floating lifeless. Ugh.
We started off telling the boys he'd just left. But they were so angry and sad and I didn't want a repeat later that I decided the painful truth was the best. Froggy died. He went to froggy heaven. Steph even put on gloves and brought the little corpse in for a final goodbye. Eddie was particularly bereft. I told him that 100 years from now when he dies he can ask God to see Froggy Woggy (his given name) in heaven. "What if I forget?!?!" He sobbed. So he drew a picture so he will always remember.
In the end, I decided that this was probably as good an introduction to death as they'll get. And they need to learn not to try to capture and keep wild creatures.
Unless, of course, you're the World Famous San Diego Zoo. As promised, here's a panda pic from the zoo. To help make this post seem all cute and cuddly and not like the confessions of a wanton frog killer.
1 comment:
I remember when we found a baby bunny in our next door neighbor's yard.
We heard something screaming over there, and the cat was ready to pounce on something in the bushes. So we shooed fat millie away (yes, her real name) and there was a quivering baby bunny, which Jennifer immediately wanted to adopt.
I told her that it's a wild thing and would likely die if we kept it too long. Why not release it in the cemetery up the hill, where we see all the other bunnies peaking out at us during walks.
This took some doing. She wanted to keep that bunny. I finally convinced her tho, and off it hopped. I just hope it didn't become a snack for the coyotes, which also roam around the Scenic Hill Cemetery.
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