Lazy's Nine Lives

Ralph and his mommy, Trish, were standing in a pet store and looking at kittens. “Can we take one home?”

“Not today, honey.”

“Why not?”

“We have to be set up for a pet. It’s a big responsibility, you know. We have to make sure the cat stays healthy, feed it.”

“Oh, it’s not a big deal if the cat dies. Daddy says cats have nine lives. That means if I forget to feed it one day, the cat can just use one of the lives.”

Trish mussed his red curly hair and smiled affectionately at her son. “It doesn’t work in reality. It’s only make believe with the nine lives.”

“Which animal does have nine lives then?”

“None, sweetie pie. Every living thing on Earth has one life.”

The pet store owner, an older man with gray hair, spectacles that only half covered his sparkling eyes, and a friendly smile came closer. “I couldn’t help but overhear your discussion. Young man, don’t be fooled. Cats do have nine lives. But! There is another animal that also has nine lives and only a very few people know about it? Do you want to know?”

“Yes!” Ralph’s green eyes blazed with thirst for knowledge.

The man led them to the reptile department. Tarantulas, lizards, snakes huddled lazily under heat lamps. In a snake terrarium he pointed to a strange looking item. It was as long as a snake, but it was… empty. The fragile object was lifted out of the glass enclosure and put into Ralph’s hands.

"Be careful with it. It breaks easily. Do you see that snake there, coiled around the branch close to the lamp? This was one of her lives.”

“Cool!” Ralph was ecstatic. “Can I keep it?”

“Ask your mother.”

Before he could ask, Trish said, “Of course you can keep it. It’s the perfect pet. We’ll give it a nice spot in your room. It’s quiet, not messy, and it won’t be hurt by any lack of food. How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing, ma’am. Keep my store in mind when you want to get a kitten, fish or a companion for this one.” He pointed to the dry snake skin in Ralph’s hands.

Later that day over dinner, Ralph reported excitedly, “Daddy, we have a new pet! It used to have nine lives but we could only have one. It’s a bit shiny and you can’t pet it or it loses some of its scales.”

“Scales? What on Earth did you get him?” Bernie wasn’t too fond of reptiles. Not in his house at least.

Ralph sighed a know-it-all six-year-old sigh. “It’s a snake, daddy.”

“A snake?”

Trish giggled. “Yes, but we got only one of her lives.”

Bernie cocked his head impatiently. “I can’t believe you…”

Putting a hand soothingly onto his forearm Trish said, “It will be OK. Ralph can care for it on his own. It’s a great first pet. After dinner, I’ll show you.”

The surprise that awaited Bernie in Ralph’s room was completely unexpected. The snake skin had been carefully poised to appear as if it was sleeping. Bernie touched it, listened to the small rustling sound, and retrieved his hand out of the artificial desert environment in the small terrarium. “I think I like your new pet, Ralph. Did you give it a name?”

Ralph shrugged his shoulders. “It’s so lazy. It never moves.”

“Let’s call it “Lazy” then.”

On the day Ralph moved into his college dorm room years later, Lazy’s habitat had been populated with more snake lives. The gentle crackling of the skins startled the roommate.

“Dude, what is that?”

“Meet Lazy and all his friends.”

“What?”

Ralph laughed. “As a kid I wasn’t allowed a real pet. So I got this snake skin, called it Lazy. Over the years I got more shed skins from the pet stores, must be nine in there by now. Nine lives, just like cats, you know.”



656 words