Paw: A Short Story

1895 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Fictional story short

Once upon a time there was a little bear cub named Paw. One day, Paw was playing in the forest. Over and over she threw a little twig in the air, leaped up, and caught it in her teeth. She spun in little circles on the forest floor, kicking up pine needles with every leap. Suddenly the sky went dark. Paw ducked under a bush and froze, as her mother had taught her to. Then the sky lightened again, but there was a huge rush of air like a great wind. Paw curiously peeked out of the bush, tail wagging, nose sniffing, just as her mother had quite specifically told her not to do. It was a huge bird, perching unsteadily on an old tree stump. The bird was, Paw thought, taller than her mommy and her daddy and her two aunts and three uncles all put together. And its wings, which it lazily unfolded and then folded again one at a time, were …show more content…

She bounded to the carcass, running faster and farther than she had ever gone before. She remembered the way her mother had carried her, and soon she found the deer, lying on the ground mostly eaten. Paw looked around, and saw a blackberry bush nearby. The thorns cut Paw's mouth, but she didn't care. She didn't stop pulling branches from the bush until the deer was so thickly covered it was barely visible. Then she grabbed a flap of skin the bears had peeled off the stag and carefully spread it over the whole mess. The overall appearance was more of a bloody thornbush than an appetizing meal, but Paw was hoping the thunderbird wasn't very smart. She sat down under some ferns and waited, watching the carcass. Before very long, she heard a rush of wind. The thunderbird swooped down from the sky like an eagle diving for a fish, feathers rustling from the speed of the descent. It thrust out its bone-white talons before it, seized the deer carcass in its claws, and turned back upward toward the sky. But it stuck. The blackberry thorns dug into its feet and kept it tied to the ground, and it fell over,

Show More
Related

  • Eudora Welty's A Worn Path

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    We are told of Phoenix?s journey into the woods on a cold December morning. Although we are know that she is traveling through woodland, the author refrains from telling us the reason for this journey. In the midst of Phoenix?s travels, Eudora Welty describes the scene: ?Deep, deep the road went down between the high green-colored banks. Overhead the live-oaks met, and it was as dark as a cave? (Welty 55). The gloomy darkness that the author has created to surround Phoenix in this scene is quite a contrast to the small Negro woman?s positive outlook; Phoenix is a very determined person who is full of life. As Phoenix begins to walk down the dark path, a black dog approaches her from a patch of weeds near a ditch. As he comes toward her, Phoenix is startled and compelled to defend herself: ?she only hit him a little with her cane. Over she went in the ditch, like a little puff of milk-weed? (55). Here, the author contrasts the main character?s strong will with her small, frail phys...

    Read More

  • Audubon and Dillard

    447 Words  | 1 Pages

    Annie Dillard portrays her thoughts differently in her passage, incorporating a poetic sense that is carried through out the entire passage. Dillard describes the birds she is viewing as “transparent” and that they seem to be “whirling like smoke”. Already one could identify that Dillard’s passage has more of poetic feel over a scientific feel. This poetic feeling carries through the entire passage, displaying Dillard’s total awe of these birds. She also incorporates word choices such as “unravel” and that he birds seem to be “lengthening in curves” like a “loosened skein”. Dillard’s word choice implies that he is incorporating a theme of sewing. As she describes these birds she seems to be in awe and by using a comparison of sewing she is reaching deeper inside herself to create her emotions at the time.

    Read More

  • Thesis For Trifles By Susan Glaspell

    467 Words  | 1 Pages

    Denotatively a bird is defined as a, Any of a class (Aves) of warm-blooded vertebrates distinguished by having the body more or less completely covered with feathers and the forelimbs modified as wings, often capable of flying. The authors/Glaspell’s strategic comparison of Mrs. Wright to a bird can be interpreted connotatively that she was a free,

    Read More

  • O'Connor’s Greenleaf

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    She looked back and saw that the bull, his head lowered, was racing toward her. She remained perfectly still, not in fright, but in a freezing unbelief. She stared at the violent black streak bounding toward her as if she had no sense of distance, as if she could not decide at once what his intention was, and the bull had buried his head in her lap, like a wild tormented lover, before her expression changed. One of his horns sank until it pierced her heart and the other curved around her side and held her in an unbreakable grip.

    Read More

  • Florida Panther

    1820 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the deer fed at the marsh's edge, its tail flickering as it nibbled tender and ripe green growth, the nervous animal paused in its feeding and lifted its head to listen. Whatever hint of danger the deer had sensed was ignored once the threat could not be located. It stamped a forefoot, lowered its head, and began to eat once more. This deer had failed to detect a Florida panther that was downwind (going into the wind) and crouched low in the underbrush. Amber eyes, however, estimated the distance between himself and the deer.

    Read More

  • Audobon/Dillard Essay

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...d genuine excitement, although the reasons were still scientific. The birds’ effects on Dillard, on the other hand, contrasted from how the birds had affected Audubon. Throughout her whole encounter with the starlings, Dillard “didn’t move” at all. She was mesmerized from when the birds first appeared to her up until they had wiped out into the woods. As the birds disappeared into the trees, she “stood with difficulty” with her “spread lungs [roaring]” Ultimately, Dillard was appalled by the magnificence of the flocks in flight.

    Read More

  • Expretation Of Mrs. Wright's A Jury Of Her Peers

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wright. The bird had been Mrs. Wright’s last resort of happiness; it represents who she used to be. This bird was very precious to Mrs. Wright, that becomes obvious when the author says this,“ Mrs. Peters drew nearer—then turned away. “There’s something wrapped up in this piece of silk,” Silk was not an easy thing to come by. Considering that the women come to believe Mr. Wright strangled Minnie’s bird, they make the inference that he did not treat her properly and she would not have been able to get expensive things like silk often. If Minnie wrapped her bird in silk, then it obviously means a lot to her. The women finally understand what happened to Minnie’s bird when they take a closer look at it, “But, Mrs. Peters!” cried Mrs. Hale. “Look at it! Its neck—look at its neck! It’s all—other side to. ”She held the box away from her. The sheriff’s wife again bent closer. “Somebody wrung its neck,” said she, in a voice that was slow and deep.” The women know that Minnie liked this bird a lot and there was no way she would have killed the bird. They come to realize that it was not her that killed the bird, it was Mr. Wright, and the bird was not the only thing that he would have been rough with. “When I was a girl,” said Mrs. Peters, under her breath “my kitten—there was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyes—before I could get there—” She covered her face an instant. “If they had not held me back

    Read More

  • Tempting Fate: Essay on "The Monkeys Paw"

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    The “Monkey’s Paw” reveals an intriguing story of destiny and death. The Theme challenges the classical ideas of destiny and fate.

    Read More

  • The Monkey's Paw Foreshadowing Essay

    471 Words  | 1 Pages

    “The Monkey’s Paw, ” a clever and mischievous intertwinement of suspense and mystery, creating sparks of action, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat until the end. But how did W.W. Jacobs do it? Well, there were multiple key aspects he took into consideration, like tension, when a conflict hasn’t been solved, and suspense, the feeling of mystery or not knowing what is going to occur as the plot continues. However, one of the most critical aspects he used in different scenarios was foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is little hints the author gives to hint the reader of what may happen along the plot. The author can foreshadow events in a clear or vague manner. In the story, the author, W.W. Jacobs, used foreshadowing in many different scenarios, but the most clear and critical foreshadowing used was when Mr. White, a character in the story, first receives the paw. Another key foreshadow point is when he has to make his second wish because of his circumstances. There were a variety of moments the author used foreshadowing, but those two scenarios were the most crucial and critical.

    Read More

  • Hands By Wing Biddlebaum In The Winesburg, Ohio

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    The story begins expressing how Wing had been the town’s mystery for twenty years- a mystery of Wing’s timidity, and the story that unfolds about his hands. A shy Wing Biddlebaum watches a group of rambunctious berry pickers from his veranda near the town of Winesburg. Wing Biddlebaum talked much with his hands, and studied the actions of other men’s inexpressive hands with amazement. In this small town, Wing’s hands attracted a great deal of attention due to their unusual dexterity. Wing’s hands were the source of his fame. Their activity fascinated the town’s people and became his eminent feature. Wing’s hands are comparable to wings of a captive bird, thus giving him his nickname. For with his hands, Wing had picked as much as a hundred and forty quarts of strawberries in a day! The people of Winesburg had been proud of Wing. Conversely, sometimes when George and Wing exchanged conversations, Wing would beat his fists on a table or a wall. This peculiar action made Wing feel more comfortable, and out of respect for Wing, George never questions him. Many times George Willard had wanted to ask Wing about the remarkable behavior of his hands and his inclination to keep them hidden away. One summer

    Read More

  • Paw Patrol Thesis

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis: Paw Patrol is a good television show because it is a fun way to learn bravery, heroism, and teaches lessons. These days most children are a huge fan of this television show. Bravery is an important feature in this television show. Bravery is the quality or state of having or showing moral or mental strength, for example to face fear, difficulty, and danger. With that being said this television show is a good choice for children to watch. Bravery is something that imbibes in us a sense of self-belief which can make us do the things which we believed we never could do.

    Read More

  • The Monkey's Paw Essay

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it”—Anonymous. In W. W. Jacobs’s horror short story, The Monkey’s Paw, the author basically teaches us about how dangerous one’s wish and tampering of one’s fate can be. Because of the dangers, one must be careful since they may regret it for life and bring sorrow upon them. Throughout the story, there are certain themes that sum up most of the story: dangerous wishes and interference of fate, the clash between domesticity and the outside world, and the horror. W.W. Jacobs teaches a very important lesson in this short story; he teaches us that we must wish carefully and that we should not tamper with fate.

    Read More

  • The Monkey's Paw Essay

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Monkey's Paw The story “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs was a story about a family called the whites that accorded the paw from a sergeant major that was over in India. The Paw came from an old fukir that made the Paw give 3 wishes but it always came with some consequences. HOw did W.W. Jacobs create tension and mystery. In the first part of the story the whites are at their home;Sitting at the table the son and father were playing chess as the mom was knitting by the fire.

    Read More

  • Deer Hunting

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was a beautiful October afternoon as I climbed to the top of my tree stand. The sun was shining, and a slight breeze was blowing from the northwest. I knew that the deer frequented the area around my stand since my step-dad had shot a nice doe two days earlier from the same stand, and signs of deer were everywhere in the area. I had been sitting for close to two hours when I decided to stand up and stretch my legs as well as smoke a cigarette.

    Read More

  • The Monkey's Paw Essay

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. The Whites family now have realized that this saying is very true… In the short story The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs it can be observed that fate needs to be respected and cannot be messed with. The setting of this story isn’t described but it is assumed that the story takes place in England in the 1900’s. This has been inferred by critics and researches who think it was this time period due to the customs and beliefs of this time and the publish date of the story, also by the currency and the economic deference of Since the beginning of the story the mood feels shady and a little bit scary which keeps readers interested in the writing.

    Read More

More about Paw: A Short Story

Open Document