By Mark Constance
Went to Higgins Lake yesterday and got ice cream at the Beary North Creamery, a.k.a. The Little Cottage.
Took our cups and we pulled up to the Marl Lake boat launch to catch the evening breeze.
A young lady, about 11-12 years old, caught a small toad near the dock. She and her family crouched around it for a few minutes, taking photos.
When they decided to pack up and go, I could hear her say “We can’t just leave him by the road. He might get run over by a car!”
As her family started to walk away, she gently picked the toad up. She carried it about 20 feet and set it down at the base on an Oak tree, with the tree between the toad and the road.
When she started to walk away, I yelled, “Thank you.”
She smiled and flipped her hand up to wave … like kids sometimes do. Then headed back to her family.
The cynic would say the toad could die in any of a thousand ways. That in the battle between life and death, this was an action without value.
But I saw this kid try to protect a bumpy and ugly little toad. And didn’t consider whether anyone was watching. She just did the right thing.
Gives you some faith in the next generations.
- Image courtesy of app.goo.gl.
