|
|
Snow Ears stood at the docks with pleading eyes directed towards an assembly of rodents who were throwing angry, accusing glares at him. Squirrel insisted that he witnessed what Snow Ears did at the scene of the crime, and he was very sure of what he saw. "But your honor," Snow Ears wailed. "I only wanted to see if Lily was still alive." Squirrel interjected, "He's lying, your honor. I saw him claw through her. See his paws and bunny tail are still covered in her blood." The low whispers in the courtroom rose to a tumult. Yes! Yes! Lily Mouse had begun a campaign to discredit certain officers employed by the bank, and Snow Ears was one of them. Surely that was motive enough. "Order! Order!" shouted the racoon judge. "Mr. Snow Ears, I pronounced you guilty of the murder of Mrs. Mouse. I hereby sentence you to a lifetime of labour. Your kind makes me sick." Snow Ears protested his innocence while being dragged away, but the crowd drowned his words with boos and jeers. The labor guards placed a chain around his neck and hauled him off to a camp where he was forced to work from dawn to dusk burrowing tunnels, collecting insects and building mud bricks. For every single day he was there he saw two or three new animals being sent into the camp to work their life away. One night, Snow Ears mustered the courage to talk with two newly arrived criminals. The wombat was accused of stealing nuts from an owl and the parakeet was found guilty of decapitating a kangaroo. However, both insisted that they had never committed either of those acts. After their conversation, Snow Ears licked his sore paws and rubbed down his dusty ears. Then he hunkered down alone beside a cold rock. He couldn't cuddle with the other animals for warmth because everyone was terrified of him. The following morning a familiar voice called out to him. It was Mr. Goose. "I have good news for you, Snow Ears. I hired an investigator and he found out that it was an owl that attacked Mrs. Mouse. You are now free to return to society." "Oh thank you! Thank you! Mr. Goose. How can I ever repay you?" Snow Ears said, as a guard unlocked the chains around his neck and revealed the chafed skin underneath. "Well you can take part in one of my studies. I have asked Dr. Scales to do a research on the relationship between low self-esteem and its compounding effect on life failures." "Oh yes, of course I will take part." After adjusting his hop to Goose's waddle, Snow Ears asked, "What will happen to the owl?" "The owl? Nothing. Apparently they are protected under the Survival of Species Act. So keep your eyes out for them my dear boy." Snow Ears stole a glance at the empty sky above as he lowered his head and kept it close to the ground.
|
Do you know your rights? Do you have rights?
