Tales From The Frog Pond - Stories for Children
- Polly the Opossum
Polly yawned a gigantic yawn, exposing a mouth full of teeth. She had slept away most of the day in her comfortable spot under the Hauschildt barn. Soon it would be evening and she would come out of the shelter where she had been sleeping all day. Her stomach was rumbling and it was time to hunt for food.
Polly wasn't picky about what she ate. She was a scavenger, and lived on whatever she could find. Tonight it was garden vegetables. She had spotted the garden full of carrots, tomatoes, and radishes when she found the spot under the barn.
Polly was pretty much homeless by choice. It was her nature to wander the countryside, seldom spending more than two or three nights in the same place. She would find a likely spot to sleep away a day or two and settle in there. She liked to sleep during the day and travel and find food at night. Polly was Nocturnal, which means she stayed up all night and slept all day.
Polly the Possum was very, very shy. She tried to avoid people and other animals, and most of the time she succeeded. She was happiest with her babies, and she carried them with her wherever she went. They stayed in a little pouch under her belly and when she walked through the countryside, it rocked them to sleep.
The baby possums were called pups or joeys. They lived on their mother's milk, which was located inside the pouch. They were warm and happy and well fed there, and their mama loved having them close to her.
Polly had good reasons to feel shy. Often people were afraid of her, thinking that she was a rat because of her long tail. They did not realize that she cleaned the area where she traveled of grubs, worms, and pests like ticks that humans find annoying. Polly was peaceful in nature and not at all aggressive. She only wanted to be left alone to search for food and water and take care of her babies.
One particular evening just after dark, the Hauschildt boys heard their dog Beau, a black Labrador Retriever, barking incessantly at the back door. Something must be out there, thought Mike.
Mike poked his head out the back door and pulled it right back in.
"Mom, there's a rat in the yard," he called out.
"Where?" said Mom, as she flipped on the yard light near the door and peered over Mike's head.
"Over there," said Mike, and he pointed to the storage building some twenty feet from the house. They could see the eyes of the creature shining in the light.
"If that's a rat, it's the biggest rat I ever saw," said Mom. "That can't be a rat. It has to be two feet long. It must be a possum."
"What is it doing?" asked Mike. "Should we get the shotgun?"
"Absolutely not! They're gentle little creatures and they wouldn't hurt anybody or anything. It's probably just looking for someplace to sleep tomorrow. They sleep all day and hunt food at night."
"Well, what good are they? They sure are ugly."
Polly heard that and her little Possum feelings were hurt. What did he know, anyway?
"Aw, I think they're cute," said Mom. "Look at that sweet little face and it's cute little hands."
Polly felt a little better and sniffed. The mom had a little better judgement than the boy.
"Bring in the dog and shut the door," said Mom. "That possum won't hurt anybody, and will probably be gone in a day or two."
Mike brought Beau in on the porch, shut the door, and turned off the outside light.
"Mom, where did Possums come from? And what do they eat?"
"Well, from what I have heard, they have been around since the Dinosaurs. They are one of the oldest animal alive. They are marsupials. Do you know what that means?
"No, what?" Mike was naturally curious, and now his brothers Jimmy, David, and Matt had gathered around to listen.
"It means they have a pouch and they carry their babies around with them," said Mom. "They are the only marsupials on the North American continent. Kangaroos are marsupials, and they live in Australia."
"Can we catch her and keep her for a pet?" asked Jimmy.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," said Mom with a smile. "She would probably be a lot happier where she is, and the best thing we can do for her is leave her alone."
"What do they like to eat?" asked Matt.
"Well, they eat a lot of things. One thing they like is dog food. The dry food that we leave out for Beau probably smelled good to her and she came up to the house to investigate."
The boys were looking out the window, but Polly had disappeared around the side of the storage building.
"Can I put out some more dog food so she has something to eat tonight?" Dave looked up at Mom with a smile and she couldn't resist.
"Sure, go ahead, but we won't do this every night, OK? Matt, will you help your brother get the dog food?"
Matt held the big 20 pound bag of dog food while Dave filled a scoop, opened the door, and stepped outside into the dark. He dumped the kibbles into Beau's food dish by the porch and looked out into the night. He didn't see Polly but he could hear her rustling in the leaves by the shed. He decided to go back into the house and watch from there. Maybe the little possum wouldn't come up while he was standing outside.
Polly lifted her head and sniffed the breeze. The fresh dog food smelled wonderful and her little nose twitched in delight. She wished the boy would go back into the house so she could get some, and finally he did just that.
Polly waited for a while, watching the house, until she was sure nobody was coming back out. Slowly she ambled towards the door and the pan of kibbles near the porch. One at a time, she picked up the small round chunks and crunched them with her strong back teeth. If a possum could smile, Polly would have been smiling. She loved dog food, and this was really good. She didn't see Dave watching her from inside the house.
Polly saw something out of the corner of her eye and whirled to see what was there. Only a few feet from the dog pan, the head of a huge rattlesnake rose out of the Jonquils growing by the porch. Polly crouched and hissed at the poisonous snake and the rattlesnake hissed back, a terrifying sound in the night. They watched each other for a minute, neither one of them moving, and then the snake coiled into a tight ball and struck without warning. Polly jumped in the air and the snake just missed sinking its fangs into her neck. She came down on top of the snake and her jaws clamped behind the snake's head. With a violent shake of her head, she broke its neck.
"Oh man, that was awesome," whispered Dave from the porch where he had been watching. Matt was by his side and they were amazed at the little possum's courage. They ran back in the house to tell Mom and their brothers.
"You should have seen it," Matt said to Jimmy and Mike. "The rattlesnake went after the little possum and she killed it. It was so cool!"
"I've never seen that happen," Mom said, amazed that a little opossum could kill a snake. "Don't go near the snake in case it's still alive. They can be really hard to kill."
But in the morning, the evidence was there next to Beau's dish. A huge dead rattlesnake lay limp next to the flowers by the porch.
"She probably saved us from getting bit," said Mom. "We owe her a thank-you."
Polly was sleeping under the storage building nearby, and heard Mom's thank you. She smiled, curled up, and went back to sleep with a smile on her little Possum face. It was nice to be appreciated.
Facts about Opossums:
Opossums have existed in their present form since the days of the dinosaurs. Their non-aggressive nature combined with their ability to forage for their food have contributed to their survival. If Polly was attacked or cornered, she would show her teeth and hiss in a ferocious display that was meant to scare her attacker. Nothing could actually be farther from the truth. If she became too frightened or if she was hurt by an attacking dog or coyote, Polly would actually go into a seizure and become comatose. She was that afraid! She would fall down, foaming at the mouth, her eyes would roll back in her head, and she would leak obnoxious green fluid from her body.
Have you ever heard of "playing possum"? That means that someone pretends to be asleep. People mistakenly think that opossums are pretending to be dead when they actually have been frightened out of their wits. They can remain in this comatose condition for up to four hours. So if you see a possum that appears to be dead, just gently remove it from harm's way and leave it alone. It is very likely that the possum is carrying babies in her pouch and has become so frightened that she is having a seizure. Leave her alone, and she may come back to consciousness and leave the area. Don't be alarmed if when you come back to check on her, she will probably be gone. She will be on her way, happy to be free.
If you are tempted to take the possum home and keep it for a pet, please don't do that. Possums have very special dietary and habitat needs. They need to be left to roam freely, find their food on their own, and live in the wild. Their biggest threat is from cars, coyotes, wolves, and humans. They frequently get run over by cars at night when they are out looking for food.
Another little known fact about possums is that they are immune to almost all poisonous snakes. Only the coral snake is poisonous to the possum, which is another reason to allow them to roam in your territory. They just may be protecting you from the deadly snakes in your area.
They are really our little friends, and have been around since the beginning of history. They must be doing something right. All they need is a warm, dry place to sleep and enough food to sustain them. If you ever find one in your area, be kind to it. It is only trying to survive in a harsh world, and they just might do you a favor of killing a poisonous snake in your behalf.
The End
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