Sleep trumps conscience

I don’t like to kill lizards, unless it is a croaking lizard or ‘wood slave’ as some folks call it. Tonight a non-croaker found its way into my kitchen when I left the front door open. There it was, perched on the wall high above the boxes on my kitchen cabinets.

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Normally lizards who find themselves inside a house are in an easily accessible place. I’d usually use the broom and coax it. That wouldn’t work in this case. My siblings suggested I leave it and go to bed. I decided not to, as my windows have screens so he would not have been able to get out.

One by one, I removed the boxes. On the second to last one, the lizard came down. When the box fell on the floor, he scurried away outside….or so I thought.

After getting ready for bed, I entered the bedroom to find said lizard high on my wall!

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No….this was not happening! Its tail had been shortened because when the box had fallen to the floor, it dropped on top of the lizard and I guess chopped it off. I don’t recall seeing a piece of tail wriggling though. Hmmmmmm…..

Dilemna. Should I leave it in my bedroom and sleep in the living room? It was cute and I’m sure it was the one who has kept my company on a number of occasions on the patio.

Nah.

I went for the spray can, broom and dustpan. Spraying did not go according to plan. The lizard ran under the bed where there are a couple suitcases and boxes, perfect hiding situations.

Eventually I spotted it hanging on to one of the bed legs. But then I didn’t remember where I had put the can of spray. Time spent looking for it meant the lizard disappeared. Grrrr. By now I was gasping, having inhaled the spray.

I waited and listened patiently to hear some fluttering, signalling the lizard trying to extricate itself from the scent of the spray. I removed the two suitcases from under the bed. It ran from there towards the wall where I emtpied out more of the spray while knocking it with the broom.

And I said sorry with each broom hit. More spray, then I put it in the dustpan, held it down with the broom while I walked quickly and deposited it outside.

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Poor lizard seemed to have been on his last. But I had decided that sleep trumped my conscience. I had claimed superiority. Sometimes in life, it is just necessary.

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Sorry lizard.

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