The Adventures of Button Broken Tail

The Adventures of Button Broken Tail by Richard W Leech M.D


Preface


This book written in simple English prose with the fullest intention of entertaining the reader. However, do not fear to pick up a Webster's Dictionary; it is an incredibly fascinating book, a journey in itself. Read The Adventures of Buttons with your parents, share it, and enjoy.
There are a very few animals not native to Oklahoma. I have strayed into the world of fantasy fiction with the introduction of Sara, but I still like to go adventuring, too. All of the dogs who join Buttons I have known personally. They were and remain grand, in my memories.

tio,
RWlL



Ssserek’s End

The small, black figure negotiated the last of the back porch steps in a controlled fall, executing a forward roll in her haste to reach the fence. Winding her way through spring-fresh daffodils, she reached her goal only to stop and cautiously look back. No one was to be seen, and she bent down, seeking the small hole in the soft dirt she had begun the day before. With hardly a glance, she began to dig, bits and pieces of dirt flying furiously backwards along her rotund body. It took but a moment for her to dig a hole big enough to permit her to push her long-tapered snout outside the confines of the wooden fence.

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She worked her way forward and glanced at both sides before emerging into the field that seemed to go forever all about her.
She snorted, a quiet, soft snort to be sure, but it cleared her nose which worked quickly to pick any strange or mysterious scents. Finding none, she bound forward. Free at last, Buttons was again into the field, seeking new horizons and distant adventure.



Her stout legs rapidly carried her forward along the barely perceptible paths of the rabbits and mice that inhabited the stretch of fence along her masters’ backyard. The day was bright, the sky clear of living creatures. Only distant cirrus clouds passed far overhead. Buttons paid no attention to them for her nose was close to the ground, sniffing to the left and then to the right. Small gouts of dust swirled into the air with each snort. Strange and alluring scents filled her nose with the passage of the early morning’s activities. How she would have liked to investigate each of them, but her Jon waited in his room while she greeted the day for the first time. Jonnie was wrestling with a new shirt for school, and was gathering his books and paraphernalia because the school bus would be along in minutes. Buttons has no other thought than the odors and drifting breezes that brought so much information to her.
She continued her race through the brown thatch of grasses that reached above her shoulders. Her pace was fast and her passage swift. Where she went made no difference for she was seeking whatever the field had to offer for fun and adventure.
The field sloped gradually from southwest to northeast toward the old and rusting fence of the graveyard which lay partially within the field. A tall line of ancient oaks split the graveyard into an ancient portion and newer sector. The heavy branches of the oaks protected the greater portion of the graveyard and provided homes for innumerable birds and four-legged creatures. These latter were Button’s goal this late morning. But for the moment, she was content just frolicking along. Her world was in her nose, and the many new and enticing odors that reached her keen, though young, senses totally blinded her to the large sinuous form before her.
The rope-like body was large, even for its kind. Button’s headlong rush was quickly detected and the creature’s passage through the tall, dry grass slowed but rather in anticipation or curiosity was not evident.
Buttons, of course, paid no attention. She gamboled along at her ground-eating pace totally oblivious to the fate that awaited her. Her passage was abruptly halted as she bowled into the form before her. A loud grunt greeted her as she unceremoniously sat back on her haunches.
“Wow,” she exclaimed as she looked at her roadblock. “Boy, are you big!” Moving forward, she peered over the large, round back. “Hey, you’re even shorter than me.” As she moved toward the head that towered above her, her nose was sniffing along the ground, examining the newcomer more closely than many had in the past. “Hey, where’s your feet? I can’t find them. I have four, you see.” Buttons rolled over on her back to the amazement of her new acquaintance. Her forelimbs were limb, and her small black feet kicked slowly in the air.
“I do see, but . . .” He got no further as Buttons immediately regained her feet and stood on her hind legs, the right forepaw bracing against her new friend, while the left leg hung limply.
“Gee, you even longer than Shadrack, the water moccasin. Do you know Shadrack?”
Her sinuous friend began to open his mouth, when Buttons continued and interrupted, “Hey, you know, you’re not the same all over. Pretty colors, too. I’m only black, well, really, shiny and black. My hair goes with my nose, you know. Color-coordinated, that’s what my boy calls it. What’s your name?”
“Ssssserek, the mag . . .”
“Sssssso nicccce.” Buttons giggled at her own joke as she launched herself over Sssereck’s broad back. Four legs hung momentarily in the air as her round belly rested on the top of Ssserek’s back. Then, with a whoosh of air, she slid to the ground on the opposite side.
Peering down the long, smooth flank, she exclaimed, “Wow, I bet it’s a day’s journey around you.”
“That’s nicely put, young lady.” He muttered in a low tone,”Must be getting old,I’m repeating my self.”
“Well, it’s only the truth, you know,” Buttons responded as she marched forward to place herself squarely before Ssserek. Ssserek’s head swayed to and fro a foot above her. “Hey, can’t you lower your head? I can’t see you very well.” Buttons sat up as Ssserek’s nose began to approach her, then slowly rolled onto her side. “My sit-up still slides to the side, you see.”
Ssserek’s soft, sibilant hiss made her scramble to her feet more quickly than normal. “Hey, I’m not making fun of you, really. Besides, you’re really very nice to look at.”
Ssserek’s head was by now swaying just above Button’s head. The broad snout pointed side to side as his slender, red tongue darted back and forth as he maneuvered to better view Buttons.
His eyes began to whirl as he measured the small four-legged creature before him. “Hum, humm, hummm. Bigger than a mouse, but appears harder than the bunnies. Hummmm.” His eyes whirled more rapidly and red flecks appeared in them.
“You have pretty brown eyes, just like me, you know. Please stop moving so much.” Buttons again tried to sit up, and when that failed, she stood for a second so that she might get a better view.
“What kind of animal are you?” Ssserek’s head was by now only inches from Buttons’s nose. “I stick my tongue out to pant, you know. But yours goes all the time, doesn’t it?”
Ssserek’s quick answer came before Buttons could continue. “I am of the great snake clan, and I do not pant. My tongue tells me much about the world around me, and it tells me you are a very fine . . .”
He hesitated, sighed, then continued as Buttons interposed a “Well.”
“A very nice young lady,” he sighed again as his thoughts were brought back to the young dog before him. “Oh, well.”
Buttons looked at him expectantly. “Gee whiz, your eyes aren’t going around and around anymore. That was very pretty, too, you know.”
“Yes, I know, but then . . .”
“Will you be my friend?” Buttons was lying on her back, twisting to and fro as she stretched and scratched her back. Flipping upright, she continued unabashedly, “You’re really nice to look at, so tall and short, as it were. You know, there’s something moving back there.”
She was gazing intently toward Ssserek’s furthest component. “What happened to your legs? You know you didn’t say, and it certainly is, well not odd, but definitely different. You see what I mean?”
“I will be your friend. I am glad you appreciate my appearance. Many don’t. And yes, I am both tall and short.” Ssserek reared up to his greatest height, and gazed serenely down on the small creature before him.
“It is a very old tale,” Ssserek smiled for his own pun before continuing, “that is told within the snake clan of a time, a very long time ago. We had legs then, but . . .”
Ssserek dropped so that his left eye focused closely on Buttons’s right. “But—it is told by those who have no love for us—they say we lost our legs because of something a great, great ancestor, many times removed, did to people. I dismiss such cavil comments as mere hearsay, and you must pay no attention to it. We, the many clans of snakes, prefer the truth. We move with stealth and silence; we are subtle, as we are supple,(to himself, nice alliteration, don’t you think), and we are wise for we hold the histories of many clans in our thoughts.”
Buttons had lost interest through this lengthy peroration and was again watching Ssserek’s nether part.
“There is something there. I did see it. Look!” Buttons tapped Ssserek with a forepaw.
He swayed to his words with his head cocked to one side.
“You see?” Buttons poked him again.
Ssserek tried to continue, “My great-great-great grandfather, ten times removed, once . . .” The rippling of muscles reached his head, and he looked down.
“Wha . . . wha . . . what is it now, little one?”
“There. You see. It’s moving and I hear noise.” Buttons was fairly jumping up and down against Ssserek’s side. “You see?”



“Yes, of course, I see. It’s always there.”
“Well, what is it?”
“Humph! I’d thought you would know.”
“Why should I? I’ve never seen one before.”
“Hardly seems possible, but you’ve probably passed it innumerable times while asking questions of some poor soul.”
“I really don’t think so.” Buttons looked up at Ssserek quizzically. “No, I don’t really think so. It’s much too fascinating for that, don’t you agree?”
“But, of course. I am rather attached to it, you know.” Ssserek grinned out the side of his mouth. “Really, you know, that’s rather good. I’ll have to run that by badger one of these days.”
Fairly hopping in one place, Buttons paid scant attention to Ssserek’s comments for her own world had been reduced to his tail. “What does it do?”
“Well, well, you see, it rattles. But then, what would a rattle do but rattle? It is becoming.”
“You always have it with you?”
“What?” Ssserek lowered his head and gazed intently at Buttons. It was not all that easy, the gazing that is, for Buttons was bouncing from one forepaw to the next. “Well,” Ssserek thought, “at least she is jousting. I think.” “I just told you, I’m very attached to it.”
“And, well, you should be. Can I go look at it? It won’t hurt, will it? Does it always make that much noise? Does it keep you awake at night? Does it play?”
Before Ssserek could respond, Buttons was off, racing down Ssserek’s side. He muttered to himself at such cavalier treatment. “Yes, you can look at it. It has never hurt me. And no, it doesn’t always make so much noise, though I’ve gotten rather accustomed to it. And no, it doesn’t keep me awake at night. Why should it? And good heavens, NO!” Ssserek jerked his head backways just as Buttons leaped.
Needle-sharp teeth sank into Ssserek’s tail just before the rattle, sending writhing muscular convulsions racing forward.
His head snapped upward and back, fangs glistening in the morning air. Buttons let go as the rattle whipped to and fro, sending gouts of dust skyward.
“This is great.” Her words came in the midst of her joyous efforts to once again capture the rattles which now eluded her best leaps.
Ssserek’s fangs stopped a fraction of an inch short of Buttons’s round, black posterior. “Good lord!,”he exclaimed. “What now?”
With her head down, Buttons lay in wait for each passage of the rattle. With each passage of the tail, she would leap, snarling at her prey, grunting with the effort. Back and forth. Up and down. Worse than leaves in a whirlwind, her small body rose into the air in swift, quick jerks, her teeth snapping ever more closely. The motion began to make Ssserek dizzy, watching the two tearing the grass into shreds in their frenzied efforts.
“My God, I’m getting positively giddy. I’m too old for this. I’m tired.” And Ssserek rested.
“Ahhhhhhhhhh.” The throat of snakes was not made for such verbal abuse, but the only other recourse was entirely too lethal, though Ssserek was sorely tempted as sharp, stabbing pains once again assailed his brain.
Ssserek’s blunt snout thudded into Buttons’s rear, sending her spinning head over heals through the grass. “Whewwww! Hey, that’s fun. Can we do it again?” Bouncing to her feet, she braced herself for another rush, only to find herself looking squarely into the face of Ssserek, whose tail was ringed with white and black. It was now rapidly sidling away from another painful confrontation.
“We will think about it.”
Buttons was by now moving alongside Ssserek’s head. “Open.”
“Wha . . . wha . . . what?”
“Open, you know, your mouth.” Buttons’s nose was nearly touching Ssserek.
Tilting his head ever so slightly, Ssserek slowly allowed a small slit to appear.
“No, no. Wider.” Buttons was bouncing up and down on her short front legs, attempting to get even closer. Again, Ssserek allowed more space to appear between his lips. “Come on,” Buttons insisted. “More.”
As his upper fangs dropped into view, they were greeted with “Ha, I thought so. They have holes in them. Do they hurt? Boy, are they big. Can I touch them?” Opening her own mouth, she continued, “See, Igateethtoo,” and with a snap, she grinned, “But no holes.”
Each time Ssserek moved his mouth aside, Buttons would move closer, until Ssserek was forced to raise his head out of reach. “No, no, my little sister, you must not touch. Ever.” He fixed his eyes on Buttons who sat with a puff of dirt.
“Well, but why not?” She dropped her head and the hurt was evident in her voice.
Ssserek took in a deep breath as he watched Buttons with both amusement and deep understanding. “They move, you see, and they might hurt you if we weren’t careful. I don’t want that. Do you?”
“No, of course not. You can touch mine if you wish. They’re sharp, though.”
Ssserek chuckled, “I believe you. Tell you what, let us never use our teeth in anger and in . . .” He looked back towards his tail. “Ummm, well, never in anger or to intentionally hurt. All right?”
“That’s neat,” Buttons responded, the entire matter forgotten as she gazed with some longing in the direction of Ssserek’s gaze.
“Boy, do you see that?” A small hushed voice broke into their contemplation.
Ssserek whirled around, whipping his head. The newcomer. Rare it was indeed when anyone could sneak up on him, and the thought that it had happened caused his rattles to whir like a hornet’s nest under attack.
“Whoa, Ssserek, you know we don’t taste good. Golly, I didn’t mean to bother you.” The voice was that of Isaiah, the skunk, and his tail twitched convulsively, torn between the great desire to depart the vicinity of Ssserek and the novelty of the scene before him.
Buttons, who had been standing against Ssserek’s smooth, glistening side, had slumped to the right haunch and sat, looking at the newcomer, with her left paw dangling at her side. What a scene!
Isaiah would repeat the tale many times in the future for no one had ever willingly put themselves within reach of Ssserek and his volatile temper.
The tip of Ssserek’s tongue was invisible as it flickered to and fro in the early morning sun. Then, it abruptly stopped, something it almost never did.
“Phew, you, my black-and-white friend, are welcome to approach. Downwind, of course, and I have mentioned that once before. You do remember?” His head dropped abruptly to directly confront Isaiah at his own level.
The sudden move sent the young skunk spinning backwards onto his tail. Whuffing, Isaiah regained his feet quickly. His composure only came later with due consideration of the situation.
“Yes, sir,” Isaiah respectfully replied. “But I didn’t expect to see Buttons so close, well, I mean, near, ah, with you, I mean. I forgot.”
“That’s because you’re a flibbertigibbit just like them birds!”
Beulah, the possum slowly sidled into the scene. “Good morning, your magnificence.”
Ssserek nodded in return as he raised himself to his most imposing height.
“And good morning to you, Mrs. Opossum. You’re out late, I see.”
“Like you, my fearsome eminence. The day appeared to be perfect for ambling in the field, what with all of the children asleep. But, you seem to be gathering all the young scatterbrains about you.”
“There she goes again.”
A very small, high-pitched voice appeared just above Ssserek’s head. “All that high and mighty stuff. Nauseating, I say.” Pip, with his wings a-blur as only hummingbirds can do, hovered just in front of Ssserek’s nose.
The flicking of his tongue matched Pip’s wings as Ssserek bent his gaze to the flashing green and gold of the small bird before him.
His humor coming to the fore, Ssserek smiled, “So, my slippery and garrulous young gadfly, Sasha, the milk snake did not find you in your nest last night?”
Ssserek’s chuckle was lost as Pip circled about his head in frenzied agitation. “What, what? Not nice, not nice. Joke not nice,” piped the flitting bird.
Ssserek’s smile was bad enough, his humor worse. “Come, come, my little gadabout. Sit. You’re making all of us dizzy just watching you.”
“Yes, please do,” came a chorus of voices from around them. By this time, Ssserek’s presence was known to many inhabitants of the Great Field. Chipmunk and squirrel, robin and blue jay, and even several field mice had gathered about, watching the unexpected activity.
The birds chirruped together, “Do sit, we so enjoy it.”
Pip, in sudden darting movements, moved about Ssserek’s head. Pip tilted side to side, and even upside down, the more carefully to inspect Ssserek and to gage his intention.
“Come, my huffy little hawk. It was only in jest.”
With a “Well, I forgive you this time,” Pip abruptly settled to Ssserek’s head. Fluffing his feathers, he haughtily surveyed his friends below. Of all the Great Field’s inhabitants, only Pip could touch Ssserek unscathed. Pip’s natural speed and maneuverability endowed him with an immunity no other could enjoy, given that he remained vigilant at all times. Pip flipped his iridescent wings to his back and stocked forward.
“Magnificent, truly unmatched.” With a sigh, he gazed serenely about him. With the barest of pauses—for a hummingbird, long indeed—he murmured to himself, “I really am.”
As Pip gazed at the world from his impressive height, the earth in front of Ssserek erupted. Mole stuck his head out of the soft, exploding red earth, piping in an irritated tone, “What, what’s going on? I was dozing when the earth started to shake something fierce. What’s this?” He moved, bumping into Ssserek’s broad body. Mole peered closely at the scaled form, “Hmm, most unusual, never seen anything like it. What is it?” he repeated himself to the world.
A small voice stuttered at some distance, “It’s Ss . . . Sss . . . Ssserek, you know, the snake.”
“Good creator of all animals, preserve me.” And suiting action to words, mole disappeared in a flurry of dirt.
Ignatius, a small, ragtag-of-a-ground squirrel, scratched himself unceremoniously. He paid scant heed to those sitting beside him and trying to get out of the way of flying hair. “You know, old mole can sure move when the spirit is upon him.” He cocked his head and looked impudently at Ssserek. “Well, snake, old boy, what do you think?”
Ssserek slowly measured the small squirrel in front of him. “I think your mother’s last thought must have been one of relief. Bless her old bones.” He burped ever so gently and nonchalantly tilted his head for a better view of the crowd now gathering.
Ignatius snickered, “Gave you indigestion, huh?” A runt, even among squirrels, he had learned to fend for himself at a very early age. Hence, there was little that was sacred to him, and one must pardon him for being an iconoclast, even in the presence of Ssserek. “Didn’t know I knew, huh?” Ssserek was slow in responding, well, at least in so far as Ignatius was concerned. “Well, huh. Huh?”
“My least of friends,” began Ssserek. The double-entendre caused him to pause, but only Buttons appeared particularly interested. Oh, well, he thought to himself, they are young. He began again, “My smallest . . .” No, that wouldn’t do, not with Pip standing astride his left eye. “Look, Iggie.” That really got Ignatius hopping up and down, his scraggly tail all a-fuzz with indignation. Thought that would get to him, Ssserek mused smugly to himself, but got no further.
Like the prow of a ship pushing ever-expanding waves to either side, Ribbon moved nonchalantly to sit before Ssserek. “Good afternoon, Ssserek, my renowed and rapacious snake of snakes. Iggie giving you any trouble?” Somewhat taken with herself because of the lovely alternating pattern of black and white stripes down her back, she delicately licked one paw.
“If you will move slightly to your right, my dear young lady, I could see your lovely stripes all the better.”
“You mean you want her downwind,” Ignatius piped in.
Ribbon haughtily regarded her tufted and tattered neighbor. “Really, rat, you take too much upon yourself.”
Ignatius laughed, a short, barking cough. “Ah, ah, dear little posy. I’m not one to take on airs. Am I, Ssserek?”
“Aw, my little poseur. You are in rare feather today.” Ssserek looked back to where Buttons sat. She had hastily moved on Ribbon’s approach. “Well, little one, I see you have met our striped nosegay.”
“Well, if you mean a skunk, yes I have.”
“That bad? You’ll have to tell me about it one day.”
“Not now, please.” Buttons looked beseechingly at Ssserek. “It really was an awful time. And, well, everyone is here now. You see, don’t you?”
“I can imagine. I understand. I do, and we won’t.” Ssserek returned his gaze to Ribbon and the many inhabitants of the Great Field that now surrounded him. Truly it was a rare day.
I wonder, Ssserek thought. Our small black friend here certainly knows how to attract a crowd. Buttons sat against his side, unconciously stratching herself. Well, it is a bit dusty today and she certainly has been busy. Next, you know . . .
Buttons rolled onto her back, arching herself side to side, sending dust clouds into the air until she was nearly masked by it.
“Does feel good, doesn’t it?” asked Ssserek.
“Well, I’m getting tired,” said Buttons from somewhere in the cloud. “It’s been a long day and I haven’t had my nap.” She sat up, her head sitting just above the dust. She looked around her. “Hi,” she shouted. “Boy, it’s good to see you.”
Ssserek smiled, for she had said little to the gathering. He started to say something to Ignatius when he became aware of the hush which had fallen on the many good animals of the Great Field. Following their rapturous gaze, he quickly looked backwards. Buttons was making her way up his tail until she stood before the coiled mound of his muscular form. First placing her right paw on one coil and then the left, she slowly bunched herself. Launching herself upward, she scrambled over the top. Falling into the bowl formed by Ssserek’s coils, she righted herself with some difficulty. A puff of dirt-laden air escaped, and she rolled onto her back. Four paws stuck into the sky, and closing her eyes, she was instantly asleep.





The broad, blunt nose of a startled serpent was caught by surprise at the cool, sweet breath of each exhalation escaping from the soundly asleep Buttons.
“Well, well!” Ssserek exclaimed. “Well, I’ll be!”
“Hey, Ssserek.” The hushed squeak of Ignatius came from his side.
Ever alert even when among friends, Ssserek was caught totally off guard. First by the totally unexpected actions of Buttons and then by the proximity of Ignatius. His head began to whip around when he caught himself. He froze. Peeking at Buttons who slept without a care within his coils, Ssserek looked slowly down at the foolhardy, and brave, young squirrel. Never had any of the squirrel clan approached Ssserek so closely. He muttered to himself, but only to himself, for Ignatius stood frozen at his side.
“To be brave for a friend is one thing, my little friend. But do you mean to be here?”
Ignatius stuttered, and before answering, carefully measured the snake. The muscular bulk of Ssserek was startling at a distance. Up near, it was absolutely breathtaking, well, almost. Ignatius was built of sterner stuff than most had given him credit for. He was also cleverer than such a small bit a fluff should be. He gambled all.
“Well, you know how it is, Ssserek. Right, Ssserek, old friend?” The last was a bit daring, but from where Ignatius stood, Ssserek had barely so much as breathed after looking down at the somnolent figure of Buttons.
Softly, Ssserek answered, “No, little rat, I don’t. But I’m sure you will enlighten me.” The serpent’s nose very slowly approached Ignatius. When within a scant inch, he again whispered, “But I’m sure you will tell me. Old, old friend.”
The nearness of the great snake caused a slight tremor to creep up Ignatius’s back. Anything, anything, terror shouted, more than anything. His muscles wished to do anything other than tremble. They shrieked, “Run, run, before it’s too late.” But Ignatius quickly suppressed his muscles and his first impulse, though not without Ssserek taking careful notice.
Ignatius began haltingly, than recovered himself. In for one, in for a dozen. He returned Ssserek’s unswerving gaze. Ignatius sat up, took a deep breath, and calmly addressed Ssserek. “Great serpent, I beg your leave.” Ignatius wished to say more, but at his friendliest, Ssserek was terribly intimidating. Ignatius pushed forward with all of his courage. “I wish to see. Really, Ssserek, no one will believe it! Gosh, it’s incredible, I mean, wow. I mean, WOW! Can you imagine? Golly geeeee! Is Buttons really asleep?” The squirrel’s voice was hushed and reverent. His breath was taken in short gasps and exalted in long hissing sighs.
Ssserek would have guffawed at the squirrel’s temerity, but Ignatius was impressed beyond fear.
“Come, my little one. Climb up, and tell the world what you have seen.”
A great leaper and with strong, facile fingers to help, Ignatius stood looking down on the recumbent figure of Buttons. On her back and partially curled up, she lay resting against Ssserek’s coils. She was clearly relaxed and totally oblivious to her surroundings. Ignatius stood, then sat, then walked around Ssserek’s coils. There was no exclamation that met the need, and he spluttered inarticulately. He sat once again, but this time, too near the focus of his attention. He slipped, then tilted forward. He would have landed on Buttons, except that someone grabbed him by the tail. He twisted, and looking upward, he found himself being lifted into the air by his tail, which was in turn grasped by Ssserek.
Moans, squeaks, and gasps came from the audience surrounding Ssserek. Many of the viewers scrambled to find safer environs. Most simply sat, stunned by the sight of Ignatius dangling by his tail from Ssserek’s lips. Without disturbing his coiled portion, Ssserek slowly turned. He paused. The moment was too dramatic not to stop. Everyone sat motionless. There were no sounds other than the quick, deep breaths of rabbit, skunk, bird, and others. Ssserek slowly deposited Ignatius before his mother who moved backwards and then sat with a plop.
Large, round eyes stared at the descending Ignatius, who began to sqirm as he came nearer to his mother. As he touched ground, he lay on his side. His legs had deserted him. Ignatius began to stutter. Righting himself, he looked upward only to find himself staring directly into the benevolent and calm face of Ssserek. Ssserek butted him, “Well, say something to your mother. She’s waiting.”
To this day, Ignatius cannot say who instilled greater awe or fear in him that day—his mother or Ssserek. Whichever existed, it lasted for a moment only as Ignatius’s normal insouciant nature got the upper hand. With a “Wow,” “Gee whiz,” and an agile bow to his mother (first) and then Ssserek, he was off, stopping only to quickly relay what he had seen.
The word spread rapidly through the crowd. The head turned first to the speaker, and then again and again to the snake who had resumed his most placid aspect. The hubbub created by Ignatius was ignored completely. The crowd began to break up into small discussion groups, and a few more daring discussants began to slowly circle Ssserek in vain hope of getting a better view. None to be had, they began to disperse. No one was about to tempt his fate by moving closer to the great snake who had become motionless.
Ignatius returned, puffing from his exertions. He looked up. “Thank you, Great Snake. Your kind actions will be remembered for all time.”
Some distance to the rear, his mother was making clicking noises as she sought to gain her intrepid son’s attention. Ssserek was not known for patience, and the proximity of her youngest son, scrawny though he was to the awe-inspiring serpent, was not the least bit desirable from her more-distant view.
She hissed, “Come back, Ignatius, before you irritate him.” She pleaded, “Please come back. You can talk to . . . Buttons. Later.” She had meant to say “That troublemaking little canine” but did not. Ignatius’s loyalty to friends had often caused much trouble in the past, but she was not about to offend Ssserek, particularly not when he was so close.
Ignatius danced in small circles before Ssserek. Torn between his mother’s insistence and all that he had to say, he finally concluded with a “See you tomorrow.” Ignatius bounced towards his mother with many a long look backwards. Ssserek remained motionless.
The temptation was too great. Ignatius was too excited to refrain. He gave no thought to the danger. He had to say it. With a twist, Ignatius bounded towards his target, his mother’s fearful squeak following after him. Standing as high as he could on his back legs, Ignatius piped, “Bet you get a crink in your neck before she wakes.”
Ssserek’s strike was faster than the eye could follow. Its speed was terrifying. Ignatius froze involuntarily, his muscles screaming, “Run!” The broad blunt snout loomed above him, filling his horizons. Then ignominiously, Ignatius found himself rolling head over heals toward his mother. The pain was unbearable. It was too well-known that Ssserek’s strike was rapidly fatal. Ignatius cried out as he tumbled through the air. He quickly became aware of his aching posterior as he came to rest in a heap of dust and tattered tail. Dirt filled his mouth and eyes. He coughed repeatedly, his breath coming in hacking, retching of pain. “Wha . . . wha . . . what happened?” He sat up with his rear legs ludicrously poking into the air towards a Ssserek who had regained his unflinching composure.
Ignatius wept loudly, “I’m dying. Mom, Mom, help me. I’m sinking. Ssserek, how could you?” Ignatius propped himself up and looked forlornly into his mother’s face. “I’m sorry, Mom, I couldn’t help it. Really I couldn’t.” He collapsed, sniffing loudly as he did.
His mother ignored her son and stepped around him to approach Ssserek. Bowing with a graceful sweep of her tail, she looked the snake directly in the eye. “My thanks, and my deepest gratitude to you, Great Serpent, for sparing my son, though between you and me, I must wonder why.”
It was with great difficulty that Ssserek was able to bow his head in return and say, “I hope I have not given your youngest too much pain, in view of the many he has given you.”
With another sweep of her tail, mother squirrel bowed once again and slowly moved away. Ignatius sat unbelievingly. His mother had never shown any courage in her life to his certain judgment.
“Gee, Mom, I’ve never seen you that close to anyone before.” Rubbing his backside, he returned to the topic of most interest to him. “What happened?”
“He butted you, you . . . you . . . nincompoop!” Her voice was indignant and only marginally concerned. “And, he has my permission to eat you the next time you get too wise for your tail.” She really didn’t mean it, of course. On the other hand, Ignatius knew that he could find himself on the wrong side of Ssserek if he didn’t watch out.
Ignatius responded as a good son should. A small “Oh” and he dutifully followed his mother, his gaze returning again and again to the snake who had not moved.
For his part, Ssserek was still having difficulties. First, it was with great difficulty that he bottled up the silent laughter which threatened to overwhelm him. Secondly, his ribs, all of them, were beginning to ache with the effort. And thirdly, as he slowly turned his gaze at the sleeping Buttons, he would not disturb her for anything, not even the most exasperating of all creatures.
Ssserek slowly regained his composure and settled himself to rest. He meant to return to the contemplation of the greatest mystery of all, The Beginning, but found himself thinking of a greater mystery, SHE!
The noonday sun had passed its zenith and paid scant heed to the silent figure of a great diamondback rattlesnake coiled about a sleeping dog. But for the inhabitants of the Great Field, it was a day they would long remember, and for a particular squirrel who sat throughout the day high on a branch rubbing an aching back, it was a day he was proud to have experienced. It was a good day even if it was a long day.

The End