Jack was in his Kindergarten. They were living in a scenic mount covered with green curtain of tea estates. The name of the place is Devala, in Southern part of India, where wildlife was abundant. There used to be occasional visits by leopards and elephants! Jack's dad used to tell him about a fluffy furred creature with huge ears the size of his hand and hair as white as milk. This creature used to hop in a funny way and people call it Rabbit.
Jack had never seen the creature before. His mental picture of rabbit was more of a sheep with fur till its ankles. Jack's father decided to bring one for his son, as Jack was pestering him for a pet. He caught hold of a wild rabbit and took it back home. When Jack returned from school he was invited not by his first pet; but by a new cooked meal! His dad had put the rabbit in the carrier box in his hefty Enfield Bullet 350 for a safe ride back home which eventually became its coffin partly because the person who designed the box did not consider air circulation and partly because the government was too lazy to maintain the condition of roads in that area. Poor boy jack! He did not have the chance to see even the dead rabbit! Jack also used to pester his dad to get him a flying squirrel.
It’s a type of gliding rodent which inhabited the local ecosystem, though Jack had not seen one yet. Once a flying squirrel landed on the Avocado tree in front of his house but before he could catch a glimpse it disappeared. Once again his dad decided to get his son a pet, this time a flying squirrel. It was rather by accident. A squirrel landed right next to him and he, by impulse caught the rodent. When Jack returned home he was again not invited by a new pet, but by a big bandage on his dad's palm! The squirrel had bitten his hand and escaped, leaving both his dad and himself in pain. Will Jack ever get a pet? Or at least see one?
