Secretly, It’s A Clever Analogy

October 20th, 2004 · 1 Comment
by Booksquare

We often hear about the power of the human spirit, etc, but what about the worm? Why is the worm so ignored? Talk about a species that goes to extraordinary lengths to survive. If you want perseverance*, we say go with the worm.

We note this because it is inexplicably rainy (inexplicably in that it has persisted far too long for October in SoCal). There comes a point when even the worms cannot take the soaking. Inevitably and dangerously, they make the long trek from the lawn to the patio, up the back stairs — they always take the stairs despite the handy wall that could be a shortcut, and somehow (this is the amazing part), find the tiny little gap between the door and the sanctuary that is the laundry. Pretty much, for the worms, this marks journey’s end. We don’t have much in the way of worm food or entertainment.

Today’s worm discovered an unexpected obstacle in its quest for survival: the calico. The kitten, always eager to make new friends (which explains why other creatures walk miles out their way to avoid her exuberance), discovered the little survivor. We can only surmise it was wiggling or making other worm-like movements. Naturally, she was entranced. Poor worm. She only kills her friends. Unless the friends put up a good fight — then they live longer, but not much. Something tells us a worm is not nearly as fun as a fly. Or a bee, though we discourage bees coming into the house for obvious reasons. We also discourage flies, but they are sneaky and underhanded.

Yeah, it’s pretty much Kitten 1, Worm 0. And after all that effort

.

*Also, a well-fertilized garden.

File Under: Square Pegs

1 response so far ↓

  • steve // Oct 20, 2004 at 2:53 pm

    If you’re interested, Darwin’s monograph on the earthworm is actually far more interesting (and readable) than might be imagined. Though I’ve heard that Adam Phillip’s Darwin’s Worms is even more readable.