Animal Dilemmas – Pig Lizard

Short Story

 

The Lizard was used to attacks of the sort. As if every living creature wanted a piece of its home. The Lizard knew exactly what to do and how to time it. It waited two or three hours, as much as it could tell time. Exited the shelter under the rock cautiously. It made sure the rabbit had gone to die elsewhere. That was the case.

The Lizard was the largest beast present in the forest clearing around the meteor. Regaining its full calm and confidence, the Lizard climbed the rock and fell asleep in a lofty crack on the top. It was its favorite because of its elevation.

Just before dawn the people made it to the opening. They unloaded heavy plastic boxes full with equipment and proceeded to se t up camp. Crackling sounds and voices awoke the Lizard. It crawled on top of the observatory to survey the field. It could distinguish the fast moving large bodies of the humans. It could hear their voices and random other sounds form their work.

The Lizard could comprehend a offence plan or even a defense one. This was an unprecedented army of intruders. Aliens to the Lizard, not forest beasts.

The people started vigorously clearing the grass around the rock and tape-measuring it. Even the Lizard could comprehend that its home was the center of their attention and they were undefeatable. This was when it sounded the tactical retreat. For a first time in a year the Lizard left its home.

It ran panicky through the grass into the forest. Unable to find a place even remotely similar to its meteor home it kept running on and on. It was vaguely guided by a search for a new home. But something was telling it, it will never find the same type. It ran for several days eating only dead beetles and flies.

Eventually it exited the forest. That gave it hope. For the meteor was in a clearing. The Lizard was hoping to have more luck in the open. It was anxious with jittery eyes and shaky steps.

At the end of the forest began a pig farm. An old pig farm with mud-bricks and ramshackled fences. But full of pigs nonetheless. The lizard crawled under the fence into the communal feeding yard. It was past midday so the pigs had eaten and were doing what they do best, they were sleeping.

The ground was uneven and eaten away by hooves and nose beasts. It was littered with random stones, feeding puddles, pools of water and muddy patches. The rest of the dry grounds were covered in sleeping pigs. Single, couples, packs all laying on the dusty ground like giant boulders.

From the Lizard’s ground perspective they looked like well rounded rocks, still and silent, and reminded it of home. The Lizard couldn’t smell which would have given it a clue that those were living creatures.

So in a relative state of relief that eased its anxiety the Lizard climbed the pigs and curiously leaped from back to back. It was mostly unnoticed and accompanied by swarms of flies. The flies were a welcome companion because the Lizard was very hungry.

It leaped and snacked for some time undisturbed, even when it scratched the pigskin in order to stay fixed on it. The pigs were to busy sleeping. The Lizard soon grew tired and chose a large pig to cuddle on top. It was still highly affectionate of large round things.

In tis dreams it started floating and breezy currents swirled around it. It was awaken by blows on tis head and its legs were loosing their drip on the pigskin. The pig had risen and finding the source of its discomfort was rubbing its back against a wall to rid of it.

The first symptoms of danger awoke the Lizard. It ran the whole length of the pig in a fury and catapulted from its nose scratching it to blood in the process. The pig gave a grunt and a squeal so loud and horrible that all pigs got on their feet. Even the caretaker of the farm peeked over the fence. For he was sure that this was the sound the pigs reserved only for the knife that slaughters them.

The Lizard landed in a bucket of feeding blend. Ground barley and corn mixed with hot water plus random quantities of old vegetables. The mixture was like quicksand to the Lizard, so it panicked, kicked and squealed. All the more when several pigs dipped their noses in the bucket for their afternoon snack.

One of the pigs blindly bit on the Lizard’s tail and pulled back holding it in its mouth. Pigs would eat anything form spinach to rats. The Lizard looked like spinach and tasted like rat. So it was rather unexplainable why this pig stopped chewing for a few seconds, it was perhaps still not fully awake.

The Lizard resorted to its final defense mechanism, its detachable tail. It held the pig’s nose with its front legs and broke off from the tail. The pig gobbled down the tail while the Lizard ran along its back shot out above the butt and kept running without looking where, when or who. It ran among pigs’ legs and under fences until it could run no more.

The pig was unimpressed. In fact the only thought that repeated itself in the pigs’ head all this time was: What is this cacophony that is preventing from eating and sleeping in peace. It was back to shoveling up food immediately because it knew pigs ate until there is food available. So someone was bound to eat its share.

The pigs elbowed each other and ate until there was no more food. The caretaker took the buckets away and pigs went back to sleep.

 

next story: Animal Dilemmas – Cockroach Pig

previous story: Animal Dilemmas – Lizard Rabbit

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photograph by freeimages

 

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