Today, I was witness to a strange and disturbing event. As I was approaching, I could see dark shapes in motion over the center line of the street. It was a crow and a rat engaged in combat to the death.
In stories and legends, witnessing such an event could have been seen as an omen. Shakespeare had predatory beasts prowling the marble floors of the great Roman Forum the night before the Ides of March. Native beliefs hold both the crow and the rat in high regard.
Many people do not like either crows or rats. Living so close to the forest as we do, we have gained some appreciation of their natural habits, and we try to live in such a way that we disturb the animals as little as possible. In return, they treat us with a sometimes curious circumspective respect.
However, this crow and rat refused to co-exist. I tried to break up the fight, but I think the crow had already struck a terrible blow against the rat. It upset me to see the animals suffer. There was nothing I could do to help them.
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