Don't Eat It

Daily Flash Fiction contest winner, prompt: "I have no idea"

It was a bright, sunny morning in the park. There were birds and squirrels playing in the trees. And rummaging in one of the most popular spots for picnicking, was a pair of raccoons. One of them stopped, and began investigating something in the grass. His friend came curiously, to see if he'd found something nice to eat.

"Bradley, what on earth is that?" he asked in a gagging, disgusted sort of voice.

"I have no idea," Bradley replied. "Come take a closer look, perhaps you can figure it out."

His friend approached with nothing but apprehension, and looked disdainfully at the slime-coated mess on the ground. "It's nothing edible, I'm at least sure of that," the raccoon said with a grimace.

Bradly gave a grin, and snatched up a bit of the mysterious slop. "Well, Francis, it might be edible," he replied.

"Don't you do it!" his friend snapped. "It could be poisonous!"

The other raccoon continued grinning. He nibbled at the strange mess, and poor Francis looked on with a mix of horror and nausea. Then Bradley took an honest-to-goodness mouthful, and said quite happily, "It's perfectly edible. Some human must have dropped this, it's okra," he then offered a paw full to his companion.

The paw and the slimy mess were both shoved away. "No thank you. I've heard about okra," Francis said, trying not to gag. "My cousin ate some at a barbecue last summer. He was sick for days after that. I'd rather go eat acorns with the squirrels."

(word count: 253)