Once I got myself into a dangerous situation when I went out rambling along the creek by myself. Mom and Dad told me over and over not to go off alone and not tell someone where I was going, but I figured I was smart enough to take care of myself.
One day when Dad was at work and Mom was doing the weekly wash, I took my rifle and set off down the creek toward Buzzard Cave. It was about a mile from the house, located about thirty feet up on the side of a cliff. I had never seen a buzzard up close and thought I might watch for them to come up to the cave and shoot me one.
Mom didn't see me leave, so I didn't bother to tell her where I was going. She wouldn't of allowed me to go if she had knew the plan.
I followed the creek bank till I spotted the cave entrance. I sat down to wait for the buzzards to fly in. Nothing happened for about ten minutes. Then I saw something at the cave entrance. It wasn't a buzzard, though. I looked closer and saw two baby red foxes.
This was much better than a buzzard. I had always wanted to catch me a baby fox and raise it for a pet like a dog.
This was my chance. I watched, but I saw no sign of the mother fox, so I decided to seize the opportunity to catch a baby fox while she was off hunting.
The cliff was to steep to climb straight up, but the cave was accessible from a narrow ledge that ran around the entire side. I had to go down the creek several tards, wade across, go thru the edge of Mr. Conover's pasture, and then climb gradually up until I reached the ledge. I propped my rifle up against a tree in the pasture before I started to climb.
I inched my way up slowly, stepping very carefully along the ledge, which was about two feet wide. I moved quietly so I would not alert the babies. Their keen little noses detected me anyway, and they retreated inside the cave as I neared the entrance.
My back was against the cliff and I looked around, hoping to see a bush or something I could hold onto as I leaned around to look inside. A movement on my left caught my eye. I turned my head to see a very angry mother fox approaching me. She growled once, and that was enough to make me want to be anywhere but on the ledge near her babies. I took a step back, but my foot slipped and I found myself in a nosedive toward the water. I remember hitting extensions from the cliff and landing with such force in the creek that it almost knocked the breath out of me. Fortunately, the water was deep enough to break my fall or I would of broken my neck. I managed to wade to the bank and check the extent of my injuries. I glanced up at the cave, but the mother had gone inside to see about the babies. I saw a bird fly overhead, but, thank goodness, it was not a buzzard. That was the last thing I wanted to see cicling around me now!
Besides some bruises and some cuts that were bleeding a little, I seem to have survived any major damage in the fall. I walked down to the pasture to retrieve my rifle, but encountered another obstacle. Mr. Conover's big bull and some if his cows had moved to the shade under the tree and they were eyeing my rifle with some degree of interest. I waited a couple of minutes, but they didn't leave. I finally resorted to throwing some rocks and shouting to scare them away. The cows moved on and the bull, snorting and pawing a couple of times, finally went after them. I dashed in, grabbed my rifle and headed for home.
When I got home, I got scolded by Mom for being out where I shouldn't have been. I wondered if the mother fox scolded her offspring for the very same thing!
By: Lonnie E. Brown
#19 of 40
From the book, "Stories You Won't Believe"
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