This is a picture from "Slovenly Peter," a book that captivated and horrified me when I was a little girl. I read it with one eye closed.
Its subtitle is something like "Cheerful Stories to Make Good Little Boys and Girls Laugh," which is a cruel distortion of what it actually is, and what it actually made good little boys and girls do.
This picture is from a story called "Little Suck-a-Thumb," who is taught a lesson when his mother goes out and warns him not to suck his thumb while she's gone, or this guy with big scissors would come and chop them off. He doesn't listen, she leaves, and he sucks his thumb.
And then, the guy with the big scissors comes in and chops off his thumbs, just like she told him he would, moving with such eager purpose he's lost his hat in the rush to mutilate the poor kid. (Check out the blood dripping on the floor--that was the part that really got me.)
I hadn't thought about this book for a long, long, time, until this weekend when I had to trim the nails of my beloved, 110-lb, two-year old chocolate lab, Not A Mean Bone In His Body.
At first we were doing great. I'd give him a piece of chicken every time he let me take his paw and clip a nail. He looked at me with the combination of pure trust, pure gratitude, and pure adoration that has led me to love him so much it's embarrassing. And then, I got to the "little toe" and he jerked a bit and I snipped too close. And it bled, and bled, and bled. I almost passed out.
He didn't yelp, didn't seem to even mind much, except ten minutes later when I wrapped it in cotton and put a sock on his foot, taping it around his leg to keep it secure and keep him from tracking blood all over the house. That he didn't like, and he walked around like an angry, humiliated canine Charlie Chaplin. I felt so ashamed I couldn't look him in the eye for about an hour. How could I have injured a helpless, sweet creature who depends on me to be kind and keep him safe?
How the heck did this happen? I grew up and became not one, but two monsters I feared as a child! Wicked Stepmother. Guy With Scissors. What's next?
2 comments:
I love your dog. I hope he is ok and over the experience.
Thank you, Didi. He has been getting deluxe treatment since the episode that he doesn't understand, but thoroughly enjoys. Lots of treats. A long walk and swim in the stream. A fragrant, warm bath. More treats. And his paw seems fine, but I still get sick when I think about it.
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