Bravery

“The rest is mine!” Anna called, snatching the last handful of sunflower seeds from the bag.

“Hey, that’s not fair!" Mike exclaimed. “How would you feel if I did that to you? Just because you’re the youngest doesn’t mean you should have the rest.”

“That’s okay, Mike,” Samantha said, frowning. “It only proves she’s still just a baby. When she’s mature like us, she’ll learn how to share.” She emphasized the last word, looking straight at her four-year-old sister.

Samantha’s reverse psychology tactic didn’t work. Anna just stuck her tongue at her and skipped to the kitchen. She found a little bowl and carefully placed her seeds in it before heading for the porch.

The screen door banged behind her as she breathed in the sunny, late spring air. It smelled of chamomile and daisies. She decided to go for a walk, away from her bothersome siblings, and eat her sunflower seed in peace, all by herself.

The house where the Duffy family lived was located in a small, newly developed town. Behind their property, a woody path led to an area that had not yet been developed. A variety of trees and wild flowers bordered the sinuous dirt path. Houses could be seen behind the trees, a small distance away. It was a perfect place for children to explore and take shortcuts to their friends’ houses.

Anna proceeded down the path, clutching her bowl and cracking each seed with her teeth. She sucked all the salt from the shell before spitting it out and eating the tender seed inside.

One seed fell out of the bowl as she bent down to look at a ladybug. A swallow sang from a nearby maple tree, and three other birds answered its call. Anna forgot all about Mike and Sammy and just enjoyed her quiet time alone, kicking a rock with her sandal once in a while.

Just as she was turning a bend in the path, something moved in the weeds ahead. The next thing she saw was a tiny, triangular head, two narrow, yellow eyes, and a split tongue, shooting out once or twice. A snake!

A dreadful thought instantly appeared in her mind. If a snake bites you with its poisonous teeth, you can die! She had seen it happen on TV, in a Robinson Crusoe episode. The person had nearly escaped death.

A split second later, she was sprinting back toward home, screaming so loud Sammy and Mike came running out of the house to see what was happening.

Can snakes go fast? I’m too young to die! Anna didn’t look back even once. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her.

Mr. Duffy, who was working in the yard, dropped his tools as sweaty, shaky Anna appeared from the path.

“What happened, Sweetie?” Mr. Duffy asked, squatting down, as she rushed in his arms. Mike and Sammy crowded around her.

“Are you hurt?”

“What did you see?”

“Tell us what happened, honey.”

“Did you meet a bear?”

“Did a bee sting you?”

Anna couldn’t speak. Her heart was racing as she looked down the path. No snake in view. Daddy is here. I’m safe. I’m never going back there again. She wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“Why don’t you show us what you saw?” Mr. Duffy said, looking down the path. Seeing Anna’s frightened eyes, he took her on his solid shoulders, and proceeded down the path, followed by two curious siblings. Anna clutched her dad’s strong hands.

She didn’t have to show them the way. They just followed the trail of sunflower seeds she had dropped in her haste.

Mr. Duffy stopped abruptly, seeing the green, slimy reptile at a distance, where the seed trail stopped.

“Is that it, Anna? That’s what scared you so much?” Anna clutched her dad’s hands tighter, wondering what would happen next.

“It’s only a garter snake. It’s not dangerous,” Mr. Duffy said.

To prove his point, and to make Anna feel better, he took a nearby branch and poked the snake with it, ending its life. He threw both the snake and the branch in a bush and turned to leave.

Observing from her perch, Anna thought he dad was the bravest person in the world!

Mike and Sammy laughed. “Imagine, being scared to death of a garter snake!” Mike said, still chuckling.

Anna smiled. Maybe she had overreacted just a little.

She didn’t notice her dad looked a bit paler than usual. He had just overcome his phobia of snakes, so that his children wouldn’t be scared of them like he was.