Once
upon a time there was a boy who really loved nature and respected
life on earth. He admired all living things and loved them as if they
were his family.
One winter day his father came to his
room and saw his son staring out the window. He asked, “What’s matter?”
The boy answered, “Nothing, Dad,” but the father didn’t know that
his son was very interested in all the wonders of the earth. Then
he asked his son what he wanted for his birthday. The son answered,
“Dad, all I want is a little pet for myself.”
The father, a little surprised, exclaimed,
“A pet! Wouldn’t you prefer presents, or a cake, or something else?”“
Yes, Dad, but a pet can keep me company
and love me.”
“But son, your mother and I love you
very much. Isn’t that enough?”
The boy answered, “Yes, Dad.”
This was Peter’s ninth birthday and
when he was seven, he got a kitten from his Aunt Berta. The kitten
was mostly orange with really bright yellow eyes and was very smart.
Peter loved his birthday present so much and thought that this was
one of the most beautiful things in the world. Peter called his kitten
Tony, and he would play with him every day, and slept with him during
the night.
Peter grew so close to his best friend
Tony, and they enjoyed each other’s company, until one day his older
brother got so angry at Tony, and stepped on him until Tony was dead.
Peter was very angry at his brother,
but he couldn’t do anything. Peter grew very sad and cried all the
time because he missed Tony so much. He felt like his brother had
taken a piece of his heart away.
Since Peter and his family lived on
a ranch, they had a lot of animals, but Peter never felt close to
any of them like he did with Tony. After the death of Tony, Peter’s
dad understood how painful it was for Peter to have lost his best
friend. But his father didn’t get him another cat. Instead, he gave
him a little chick for his birthday. This made Peter happy and he
called him Ruben. Ruben was very small and yellow with a very cute
beak. Peter loved Ruben, but not as much as he loved Tony because
Ruben wasn’t smart or friendly.
One cold winter night, Peter put Ruben
to sleep like always, but this time he rolled him in a blanket because
he thought he might die from the cold. After he rolled him in, he
put him next to him on his bed. Peter thought that by doing this he
would keep Ruben warm throughout the night. Peter said good night
to Ruben and tucked himself into bed.
When Peter woke up, the first thing
he did was say good morning to Ruben. He tried to look for him like
always, and pet him, but this time Peter didn’t feel anything. Peter
got up and looked around his room, but there was no sign of Ruben
anywhere. Peter went outside to look and call his name, but there
was no response from his little friend anywhere. Peter went back to
his room, and looked in the place where he had slept the night before.
When Peter pulled the blanket off the
bed, he saw Ruben still lying down on the bed. He said, ‘Oh you little
bugger, I have been looking for you all over the farm, and you are
still sleeping. Ha!” He picked up Ruben on his arm and said, “Come
on, wake up. It’s late.” Then he noticed that Ruben wasn’t breathing.
Peter began to cry, cry out loud until his parents came to his room.
His father asked, “What’s the matter, son?” Peter answered, “I can’t
wake up Ruben.” When Peter said this, his father knew that the rooster
was gone. His father asked, “What happened?” Peter explained. His
father thought, “Oh no, you rolled over him last night when you were
asleep.” Peter understood that that was probably what had happened
and wrapped the chick in a piece of newspaper and brought it outside.
He saw an apple tree a few feet from the house, and decided to dig
a hole under the tree. He put Ruben inside the hole. He said, “Dear
friend, I’m sorry for what I did to you last night. I didn’t mean
to.” Then he covered him with dirt. Peter knew that this was his last
pet. Then he cried and went to his room.
Peter grew to be a very loving and gentle
person. He was kind with everybody. He tried not to get into drugs
and he respected every living thing.