B2.2 Writing - A story

Curiosity kills the cat!

As far I can remember, I've been interested in all kind of insects and I've always been a great animal lover as well. If I had finished all my studies properly, I'd have been good at both, Entomology and Zoology. Nevertheless, I have to recognize that sometimes my curiosity has got me into troubles for not being too careful with nature.

When I was a child, my family used to spend some days at Easter in a cozy cottage that a friend of them had hired out to us for the duration of the holiday. At that time, spring was really breathtaking: fresh and multicolor flowers on the ground, amazing butterflies everywhere and a calm river whose water reflected like a mirror the sky during the day and the stars at night. Standing in the countryside was like a dream for me.

One day, I was killing time looking for and picking up each strange bug I saw.

'Don't touch it!, it may be poisonous!' my father yelled.

'Don't worry. They're harmless anyway,' I muttered. 

Later, I went for a walk around alone. While I was sauntering, I spotted an old pool behind the yard of a nearly collapsed house. It seemed that the owners had abandoned it. I thought there would probably be tadpoles in it. The pool was surrounded by a rusty fence so that no one could enter...

As nobody was there, I started to open the hardy fence, but due to the abundant vegetation I didn't realise something. An asleep snake, which was the same colour as the vegetation, was curled up on the fence. Thus, it was camouflaged! So, just as I was about to open completely the fence, suddenly the snake woke up and bit my hand. I felt such a painful bite that my screams reached my parents.

'Mum! Dad! Help me, please!' I shrieked.

Fortunately, they were able to came as quick as a flash.

'What the hell's happened to you!' They gasped.

They sucked the bite in order to get the poison out and tied a scarf around my arm before taking me to the hospital. Luckily, the snake wasn't poisonous, but I had its bite as a memory of my adventurous spirit for a few weeks.

'Thank God we all arrived home safely and soundly! my parents sighed.

It had been the most surprising thing that had ever happened to them, and probably ever would.

María José Rodríguez  B2.2