Sophie went on a firefly collecting rampage this evening. Papa gave her a container and with the help of our 8-year old neighbor, she caught a whole bunch of them. And boy was she proud.
Problem was she wanted to keep them in the container. When I told her they’d get sick and die if she didn’t release them, she honestly didn’t seem to care too much. That is, until her Grammy told her the exact same thing (without any coaching on my part, mind you).
Then, and only then, did she exclaim “My fireflies are getting sick! I better let them go!” She ran down the stairs (I was truly afraid she’d end up tumbling down the stairs in her panic to get to the bugs before they croaked), out the front door and liberated the little creatures from their involuntary bondage.
I was very relieved that Sophie took a step away from the dark side (albeit with much convincing) and refrained from committed bugslaughter. That’s progress compared to a year or two ago when she happily stomped ants to death.
