Patricia Stoltey

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Iguado the Irascible Iguana

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Blogging from A to Z April Challenge
 The ABCs of Behavior and Emotions

Iguado the Irascible Iguana

Iguado stomped across the shaded rock looking for a spot of sun for his morning nap. Down the side and across the path he went, criss-crossing patches of rain forest, searching for the elusive rays to dry off. Instead, it began to rain.

Thrashing his tail and gnashing his teeth in anger, Iguado looked left and right, still searching. He spotted another male iguana swimming across the river, but iguanas are not known for their sociability. Iguado scrambled up the nearest tree to hide and observe. Soon the rain stopped. And then he saw it. A big flat rock in the sun.

The invader was heading for a spot in the river where there was such a large opening in the overhanging trees and vines that a whole cluster of rocks remained dry and warm.

Now Iguado was really mad. That spot should be his. He gnashed his powerful teeth and thrashed his tail wildly as he prepared to scramble along the branch and leap to the ground with a fearsome hiss.

Instead, Iguado suddenly found himself dangling by his tail from the jaws of a boa constrictor. He thrashed and snapped his jaws so wildly the snake could not let go long enough to unhinge his jaws and swallow Iguado whole, so our iguano hero escaped with a small bump on the head where he landed against the tree trunk and also minus a large section of tail.

Now, however, Iguado was madder than ever. He marched straight to the river and swam to the rock, kicked the sleepy invader into the water, and finally, finally got his sunny spot.

Irascibility can be bad, or it can come in handy from time to time. For Iguado, it got him into trouble, but also helped him get what he needed (to escape) and what he wanted (the sunny spot). It also left him with a very short and achy tail that would take considerable time to grow back.

Are you surprised I didn’t let the boa constrictor swallow Iguado in one big gulp?

Me, too.

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Comments

  3. I have to admit it took me a while to realize this A to Z series from you was not for preschoolers. I love them. Look forward to each one. Very clever.

  12. I think I’m a bit more like Iguado than I’d like to admit, for all the better and worse irascibility offers. Fun story, Pat. What a great collection!

  13. Pat – I love that little guy! Such a natural, believable reaction when things start to go wrong for him. And sometimes, when things make you mad – er, irascible – it does make sense to just let that irascibility take over.

  15. Phew, I was thinking no way Iguado could escape. But he must be too small for the boa, right?

    p/s
    Thank you so much for finding us at nuttybean, Patricia and leaving us a comment. Really wonderful to meet you.