by Barbie Bertrand

Created on: January 06, 2009

Boys will be boys

Maybe some of you won't find this humorous but I just about cracked a rib while listening to a conversation between a five year old boy and a man in his fifties, who thought he was saving the child from horrifying thoughts of cruelty to animals.

This man was an avid hunter and would spend most fall mornings preparing to go hunting for duck, geese, deer or whatever was in season. His wife ran a daycare and had children coming and going all day long. The children got used to watching this man get ready for his hunt and would ask him questions about his clothing, his weapons and his decoys. He would often appease them with stories that would take there minds away from the fact that he was killing an animal.He would tell them his hunting clothes were GI Joe outfits and other outrageous tales. The children seemed to be taken in by all these tales, leaving the man feeling like he was being a good person by not letting them know all that happened when he hunted.

One day he returned home from his hunting trip and was very triumphant and proud to let everybody know that he had "got" a deer. He went on to tell everybody that it was ten points and it was the largest deer he had every "got". The little boy asked him how he "got" the deer so the man proceeded to tell him how; " Well" he said," I went deep into the woods, walking as quietly as possible so I wouldn't scare the deer away. Then I sat down on the ground and waited until I saw one approaching. Once it got close enough I took out my rope, wound it up and lassoed the deer around the neck. Then I dragged it out of the woods and brought it home. It was quite a struggle young man but it was worth the fight. In the end, I have enough meals of venison for a year and am proud of such a catch. Remember son, you need to work hard and be patient to win the prize."

The boy looked at the man for a few seconds and then very matter-of-factly said "Why didn't you just shoot it with your gun, it would have been a lot easier?!".

I laughed so hard that I had tears running down my face. They weren't just tears from laughter though, they were tears of pride. At that moment, I realized that I had raised my son to be courteous enough to listen to something he knew was just a story but meant the world to another person, yet strong and confident enough to voice his opinion.... you are certainly growing up little man

Learn more about this author, Barbie Bertrand.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.