Once upon a time, an author moved to Central Florida from the Northeast. This author settled into her new house, happy to watch the squirrels and armadillos and occasional tree frogs cavort in her yard.
One day, the author's dog, a frisky puppy named "Nibbles," found something in her yard. The author went to investigate what was exciting the pup.
The thing was five inches long, had a black carapace, and pincers.
Was it a scorpion?
The author screamed. Her daughter jumped up on a chair.
The puppy barked and wagged her tail.
The author's husband, armed only with his trusty can of Raid, came running, but the terrible creature had disappeared into the grass that desperately needed cutting (the author lost no time in reminding her valiant husband of that fact).
The author relaxed.
The daughter climbed down off the chair.
The puppy continued to bark and wag her tail.
The husband retreated into the house grumbling about lawn mowers needing gas and not being the sole responsibility of the man of the house.
Time passed, and the author found herself alone in her Florida room. She heard a scratchy, skittering sound. Lo and behold, the horrible creature was back, crawling slowly over the floor!
The author screamed.
The daughter came running and promptly jumped up on a chair.
The puppy barked and wagged her tail, the sliding glass doors preventing her from jumping into the Florida room and possibly having her nose pinched by the terrible creature's pincers.
Or eating it.
Most likely the latter.
It was then that the author realized the terrible creature had a lobster-like tail.
All the screaming, and chair jumping, and shaking of Raid cans had been unnecessary. The creature was not a dreaded scorpion, but a crawfish.
A crawfish.
Seriously. In my backyard. In my Florida room.
The author's valiant husband relocated the crawfish to the undeveloped land behind the fence.
The daughter climbed down off the chair.
The author went back to writing.
And the puppy continued to bark and wag her tail.
The end.
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LOLOLOL Sorry, am from Florida...I have "fond" memories of huge roaches, those long, fast-moving lizards, and those stupid green frogs with the slimy feet that stuck to you. Ah, the tropics.
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