| Rats of the Rainbow "Cinnamon's Story... Humble Beginnings" |
The little rat sat hunched back into a corner of the tank, hoping not to
be seen. Fighting had broken out among the stronger, healthier rats.
The sick and dying had already given up.
She pushed once again at her sibbling beside her...so cold now...so
still...
and tried grooming her to rouse her from such a silent sleep. Still no
response but the little rat laid quietly beside her trying to take
comfort in the familiar nearness.
She wondered if this was "death". Was this what it was like to "die"?
She didn't know for she hadn't really begun to live.
She had heard of the "reptiles". You were taken from the tank and
dropped by your tail into their den...the feeders not wanting to get
scratched in the process.
She wondered if it hurt to "die".
Pushing her sibbling slightly to the side she found a morsel of corn
underneath her silent companion.
She tried to eat quietly hoping that the other rats would not hear that
she had found food.
In spite of it all she was still hungry and her little body demanded that
she eat.
The corn was soaked with sweat and urine but still she ate.
A water bottle hung empty half off it's holder in another corner of the
cage. It didn't matter. The bacteria in the dirty bottle had caused the
water to have an acrid taste, actually making her more thirsty.
One of the smaller rats fell to her side and she could see the others
terrified gasps for breath.
Soon her time would come as well.
She would either die from respiratory failure or from skin infection
caused by the never ending itch of the mites...or she would be fed
alive to a waiting animal.
She had heard the thought of "stunning" but had also heard that it
was normally not done right. Taken by your tail and hit in the head
with an object of sorts...
She wondered if it would hurt if this happened to her.
She didn't hate the "reptiles". They were as much a prisoner here as
she was.
Silently she finished her last bite of the corn.
She could see other tanks and cages stacked one on top of the other.
Rabbits, mice and even hamsters fought for food and room..their
condition the same as her own. The dead and dying often left in with
the living. Still present among the living...the struggle to survive. The
fear of dying.
The door suddenly opened to the room and the "man" walked to one
of the rabbit cages. Grabbing one of the smaller and weaker animals
out by it's ears, the terrified bunny's skin was torn as it tried to free
itself at the mouth of the cage.
The little rat had hear the rabbit scream. She had heard this
before...and she knew...that whether she lived another day, another
minute or another hour she would never forget the scream of the
rabbits.
The door slammed shut and the still stuggling animal was gone.
The weaker animals were usually taken first so as not to waste what
little money had been spent on their acquirement. The little rat knew
that her own health was failing fast and that soon those hands would
reach for her if she did not die from the conditions in the tank first.
The little rat thought back. So many events had already occurred in
her short life.
She remembered the warmth and safety of being with her mother and
brothers and sisters. She sniffed the air longing for the scent of the
only home she had ever known.
The tank where she was born along with her sibblings had a rather
putrid odor but her mother had smelled good to her. She remembered
trying to play with her mother, but the mother rat...not much older
than her offspring...had a terrible wheeze and gasped for breath with
each movement.
Then came the day when her mother had been removed from the tank
with gloved hands and the little rat had been dumped..along with her
sibblings...into a cardboard box of type and transported to this place.
Now she wondered how her mother was. Where her mother was. She
had always seemed so very very sad.
The door to the room where they were held creeked as once again the
"man" entered but this time followed by someone smaller. A "girl".
The "man" came toward her tank, quickly darting his hand in
removing the dead and dying to a can by the side of the cage as the
"girl" looked at the rabbits. Her last remaining sibbling had been one
of them. She had never known where the others had gone...
her brothers...
her sisters...
as one by one they were taken from the tank to the place outside the
door which was always kept closed.
The "girl" now approached her tank. Her sibbling gone, there was
nowhere to hide.
be seen. Fighting had broken out among the stronger, healthier rats.
The sick and dying had already given up.
She pushed once again at her sibbling beside her...so cold now...so
still...
and tried grooming her to rouse her from such a silent sleep. Still no
response but the little rat laid quietly beside her trying to take
comfort in the familiar nearness.
She wondered if this was "death". Was this what it was like to "die"?
She didn't know for she hadn't really begun to live.
She had heard of the "reptiles". You were taken from the tank and
dropped by your tail into their den...the feeders not wanting to get
scratched in the process.
She wondered if it hurt to "die".
Pushing her sibbling slightly to the side she found a morsel of corn
underneath her silent companion.
She tried to eat quietly hoping that the other rats would not hear that
she had found food.
In spite of it all she was still hungry and her little body demanded that
she eat.
The corn was soaked with sweat and urine but still she ate.
A water bottle hung empty half off it's holder in another corner of the
cage. It didn't matter. The bacteria in the dirty bottle had caused the
water to have an acrid taste, actually making her more thirsty.
One of the smaller rats fell to her side and she could see the others
terrified gasps for breath.
Soon her time would come as well.
She would either die from respiratory failure or from skin infection
caused by the never ending itch of the mites...or she would be fed
alive to a waiting animal.
She had heard the thought of "stunning" but had also heard that it
was normally not done right. Taken by your tail and hit in the head
with an object of sorts...
She wondered if it would hurt if this happened to her.
She didn't hate the "reptiles". They were as much a prisoner here as
she was.
Silently she finished her last bite of the corn.
She could see other tanks and cages stacked one on top of the other.
Rabbits, mice and even hamsters fought for food and room..their
condition the same as her own. The dead and dying often left in with
the living. Still present among the living...the struggle to survive. The
fear of dying.
The door suddenly opened to the room and the "man" walked to one
of the rabbit cages. Grabbing one of the smaller and weaker animals
out by it's ears, the terrified bunny's skin was torn as it tried to free
itself at the mouth of the cage.
The little rat had hear the rabbit scream. She had heard this
before...and she knew...that whether she lived another day, another
minute or another hour she would never forget the scream of the
rabbits.
The door slammed shut and the still stuggling animal was gone.
The weaker animals were usually taken first so as not to waste what
little money had been spent on their acquirement. The little rat knew
that her own health was failing fast and that soon those hands would
reach for her if she did not die from the conditions in the tank first.
The little rat thought back. So many events had already occurred in
her short life.
She remembered the warmth and safety of being with her mother and
brothers and sisters. She sniffed the air longing for the scent of the
only home she had ever known.
The tank where she was born along with her sibblings had a rather
putrid odor but her mother had smelled good to her. She remembered
trying to play with her mother, but the mother rat...not much older
than her offspring...had a terrible wheeze and gasped for breath with
each movement.
Then came the day when her mother had been removed from the tank
with gloved hands and the little rat had been dumped..along with her
sibblings...into a cardboard box of type and transported to this place.
Now she wondered how her mother was. Where her mother was. She
had always seemed so very very sad.
The door to the room where they were held creeked as once again the
"man" entered but this time followed by someone smaller. A "girl".
The "man" came toward her tank, quickly darting his hand in
removing the dead and dying to a can by the side of the cage as the
"girl" looked at the rabbits. Her last remaining sibbling had been one
of them. She had never known where the others had gone...
her brothers...
her sisters...
as one by one they were taken from the tank to the place outside the
door which was always kept closed.
The "girl" now approached her tank. Her sibbling gone, there was
nowhere to hide.
Rat link: Page 2