“Son! Come here and help me unload the ship!” A voice booms from somewhere in the distance.
I had almost gotten the rat thing in my hand when Father called; and when he called all signs of life disappeared into the thick brush near the harbor
“Coming Father,” I say as I run out of the woods. “Guess what I just saw?!”
“What did you see Alex? Was it a bear coming to eat you?!” Father chases me, pretending to be a bear, until we are out of breath and leaning on the hull of the ship.
“Father, I saw a rat thing! What is it?”
“Alex, it’s probably a squirrel. Now, lets unload our cargo. The yanks will be coming soon.”
Before long, our cargo of exotic nuts and seeds are carried onto the deck. The American merchants will soon start flooding the ship, buying as much as they can to sell to their customers.
“Go have some fun Alex. Hold on,” Father starts digging in his pocket. “Here, you can have a dime. Go get yourself some food.”
“Thanks Father!” I sprint out of port, heading for the nearest hot dog stand. I buy a hot dog, then I get a penny lick. That ice cream was good! But, what do I do now? I am almost out of money and Father stops selling at dusk. Then it hits me. The woods! I will go and try to catch a pair to sell at home! I run a while, until I am at the woods.
I make a simple trap and sit a couple of meters back. After a while, I doze off. When I wake up, there are two squirrels in the trap! A quick check confirms that they are boy and girl. I catch 5 more, 3 girls and 2 boys. Nice! Now I have enough to bring back to England to sell!
I catch one more, a baby girl, that I release back into the wild to be with her mom. By that time, it is dusk and I have to go back to the ship. I make sure to grab the cage I made and run over to Father.
“Look, Look! I found the squirrels!” I say running through the port, earning myself some angry looks from harbormasters and laborers alike.
“Slow down there Alex. What is that in your hand?” Father asks, examining the cage.
“I caught some squirrels to bring back to England, to sell to my friends. I figure I can get at least 25 cents for each one.”
“I’m proud of you boy,” Father says slapping my back, “always thinking ahead. Alex, help me strap down the cargo in the hold, today was very profitable.”
The voyage home was relatively uneventful. When we got back to England I started advertising my exotic creatures. My friends bought them like crazy. I even made $1.75! Next time Father and I go back to America, I have to bring back more.
Written by Charlie Hamm
