Shades of Green

 Just the other day, I learned something about myself. I got up early this particular morning and let my dog out for his morning stroll and then went back inside the house to make myself a cup of tea. As the milk boiled, I thought to myself about the unusual silence this morning. It wasn't very much like my dog to not bark into the dead silence of dawn or to run inside the house, sniffing around, wagging his tail. I took my cup of tea and strolled out to check on him. He was there indeed, but with something that looked like a dirty black cloth to me held in his mouth. I walked towards him to get a closer look. Such are times when I strongly wished I wasn't myopic. As I got closer, he took his cloth and ran further away from me. I got a glimpse of something hanging that looked very much like a rat's tail. To prove my suspicion true, I called my father to check and confirm what he was seeing. And then, the horror began! It was a dead black rat, indeed! I began to shiver and s