Last week I started telling about three boys on a berry picking excursion. Now here is the rest of the story.

For just a moment, time seemed to stand still. The snake hesitated, the boys froze and even the leaves stopped moving, as the wind hushed. There was a moment of absolute calm. Then, from far off in the distance, came the caw of a lone crow and everything happened at once. The snake started to crawl away, its sinuous coils glistening in the bright June sunlight.

The boys hurriedly laid aside their berry-filled bowls and began picking up rocks to use as projectiles against the fleeing pit viper. The surrounding vegetation resumed its fluttering, as the normal top of the hill winds started up again.

Unlike most of their neighbors, the boys were not in the habit of killing every snake they saw, but they felt it was their responsibility to kill poisonous serpents because they might eventually harm someone.

They started heaving rocks at the venomous reptile, but didn’t seem to be affecting it very much. Either they missed completely or, if they did make contact, the thick layer of dead leaves under their target cushioned it against any damage. The snake was heading for a large flat rock, under which it would be safe from its three young attackers.

Just as its head was disappearing under the rock, Dale picked up a long stick and hooked their adversary. He yanked it from its almost realized sanctuary. It flew through the air and ended up wrapped around Brian’s bare ankle. Dropping the stick, Dale joined Malcom in a renewed effort to stone the copperhead. They did not appear to be very concerned about where the snake was now; they were still trying to kill it.

Brian, on the other hand, was very aware of the exact location of their target and the uppermost thought on his mind was not what you would think it would be. He was hopping around on one leg trying to kick off the writhing reptile and he was very afraid, but it hadn’t occurred to him yet that he might be bitten. He was trying to avoid getting his bare foot smashed by a flying rock and trying to dislodge the serpent so his brothers would stop throwing at his feet.

Finally, after what seemed like a much longer interval than it was, he managed to fling the copperhead from his person with an energetic kick. The snake landed at the hideout it had been trying to reach earlier. This time it successfully crawled to safety underneath.

There were definitely mixed reactions from the boys at this outcome. Brian was giddy with relief that his feet were still intact and now that he thought of it, he had avoided being bitten! Dale and Malcom were disappointed at losing the battle against their reptilian foe.

“What’d you do that for? You let it get away!” was Dale’s indignant response.

Once it became apparent that the snake was going to survive this encounter, the boys retrieved their berries and resumed their journey home.

When they got there, they took the fruit of their labor into the kitchen. After adding some sugar, they spooned off some of the thick cream from the previously unopened jar of unprocessed milk. Then taking their hard-earned treats to the table, they prepared to feast.

Readers who have experience with picking any kind of berries may notice that the boys left out an essential step in the process. They didn’t wash the berries! This should have been done to facilitate the removal of sticks and leaves, but the main reason is to wash out any insect stowaways.

As a result of this omission, the first bite of juicy berries, cream and sugar that Brian took also contained a large stink bug. Any of you who have smelled one of these noxious insects can imagine what one must taste like. The automatic response of Brian’s mouth to this unwelcome flavor was to fly open, allowing the crushed bug to fall back into his bowl along with the rest of its contents. This rendered his fruit inedible, but taught him a valuable lesson. He might not have got to eat any that time, but he invariably washes his berries to this day.

In conclusion, I would like to add a few comments. The reason the story is written in the third person is that, although everything in the story did actually happen, it wasn’t necessarily all on the same day. It’s a composite of real events compressed into one incident. Also, a note about the difference between bugs and beetles: a beetle has jaws for biting, thus they should be called lady beetles and June beetles. A true bug has a sucking mouth like a mosquito, which is not a bug. Most bugs live on the juices of plants and the favorite food of stinkbugs is the berry.