Little Miranda was alone in the
garden. I was watching her
distractedly, occasionally glancing
over the top of my newspaper.
Almost kneeling, she was slowly
approaching the fence, trying to make
as little noise as possible. I thought
she was looking for mushrooms or that
she was pretending she was a giant
mouse.
But after a few minutes I heard her
cry out. It was a lusty cry, followed
by a bout of tears. I jumped out of my
chair and ran out to the garden, in my
bare feet.
Miranda was holding her index finger.
It was bleeding, but it didn't look too
bad. I ran some water over it, asking
what she could have touched that made
her finger bleed, in a garden that I
had planted with grass and other
harmless plants.
"I wanted to touch the animal," she
replied, "but it didn't let me come
close, so I stretched out my arm and it
did this. Then it ran away. It's too
bad. I didn't want to hurt it."
"What animal?" I asked.
"The white and black ball, down
there," she said, pointing to the end
of the garden.
I picked up a broomstick I found in
the kitchen and went back outside. In
the garden, half buried in an old
gopher hole, I found the animal. It was
a porcupine. I remembered what I had
learned in my natural science class.
The porcupine is a solitary animal.
When confronted, it either retreats or
projects its needles. Once the needles
have penetrated the flesh, the wounds
become infected and, in some cases, can
cause death.
Miranda had presented no danger to
the porcupine, but it didn't know what
else to do except wound her, or get
wounded itself. Nature, in creating its
instinct, gave the porcupine no choice:
instead of communicating, it had to
launch its needles. That is the only
strategy it knows, and no one can
change it, not even a little girl who
wants to make a friend.
__________
Is the porcupine the only animal to
use this type of defense?
No, people apply it every day of
their lives. But our needles are more
vicious, and better hidden. Words,
blows, looks, anger, pride... these are
the arms we use to attack those who
seem to be adversaries.
But even a porcupine has to get close
to other porcupines at a point in time. If
not the species would disappear.
.......................................
"It matters little if we have the
most beautiful feelings, if we are not
able to communicate them."
Stephan Zweig
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