A Few Minutes This Afternoon

It's 3 o'clock-ish, the afternoon of the last day of school. Madelyn and Gwen are playing outside in the rain in their swimsuits. Suddenly the door opens and Gwen runs in, dripping.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to get something."

She heads into the kitchen and takes a teaspoon out of the silverware drawer.

"Why do you need a spoon, Gwen?" I ask, imagining that maybe the girls are playing in the sand pit.

"For a bird."

Hmmm. A spoon for a bird.

I offer her two plastic spoons in exchange for the stainless steel one. She hesitates, then accepts them.

"Why do you need a spoon for a bird?" I ask again.

"It's a dead bird."

Oh. Of course, it's a dead bird.

Wait, it's a DEAD BIRD? Why do we need spoons for a DEAD BIRD? I thought you were playing in the rain in your swimsuit. How did a dead, wet bird join the mix, and why would you need a spoon for this carcass?

I yell out the door to Madelyn. Turns out she wants to put the bird body in the sewer with a spoon. And it was almost a spoon we EAT WITH.

Stay away from dead birds, please. Do not touch them, with or without spoons.

Disaster averted. Playing in the rain in swimsuits continues.