Being the child growing up with a soft spot for nature my heart often wept, and still does, for the actions of my peers. Can't say that I saved them all but I did ruin plenty of "fun" for the losers who thought inflicting pain was good sport. Most often the response was simply disappointment at my stealing the source of their entertainment and releasing it somewhere safe. There was this one encounter with a snake that netted me a bonus reward on top of the warm, fuzzy feeling I'd get when saving a helpless critter from a slow and painful demise.
Middle school. Heading out to after lunch recess when I see a teacher hovering behind a pack of boys that are wildly kicking the hedge bushes. I see a black racer poke it's head out then retreat before more poorly placed kicks can land. I quickly snatch the snake out of the bushes, walk it across the yard, and release it through the back fencing that leads into some pine woods. Being a typical coluber I was rewarded with copious musking and rapid fire biting. Beginning of next period I get called into the nurses office. When asked if I was bit I tell them yes but it was only a harmless black racer. They can be bitey little suckers but are not dangerous. I try to explain this as they take my vitals and check my superficially chewed up arm. They're all looking at me like I'm a complete idiot so I tell them I can identify every snake indigenous to the state and there's no need for concern. Apparently the risk of me dying on their watch was too great as they had already called my mom to come pick me up with a strong suggestion that we visit the hospital. Me and the folks had a good laugh and I enjoyed a couple extra hours of outdoor adventuring that day.
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