A One Trick Pony

I’ve been traveling for five days and greeted my almost seven year old son at the breakfast table this morning with stories of the desert; the wild horse I could hear but not see, the Indian petroglyphs, the hundreds of acres of fire scarred cactus “…and oh yeah…I got you something. Something you can put in your science corner.  Real rattlesnake eggs.”

Handing him the envelope, I made sure to point out the importance of the warning printed on the front: “It says to keep in a cool place to prevent hatching…”

He took the envelope from my hands and eager to see the contents he opened and found instead the fright of his life.  As the envelope sprang with action he dropped it and ran into the next room screaming SNAKES!

When he saw me rolling with laughter he knew he’d been had.  Good naturedly he came back and said “let me see that!” The next five minutes we spent laughing together as I showed him the spring mechanism made from wire, a washer and a rubber band. “Pretty scary, right Dad, pretty scary.”

Beware the next time you visit.  Ben is dying to show someone his rattlesnake eggs.