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During the execution, a strange gray bird circled in the sky above them. He looked exasperated and outraged, as if he knew exactly what was happening and how ridiculous it was. The turtle was guilty of nothing other than being a bit grouchy. Her husband died years ago, and she liked to stay home all day and cook and sing her emotions. But with everything that was going on, no one could be sure of anything. How could anyone be POSITIVE that she was just cooking soup? How could anyone be POSITIVE that she was just singing songs, and not chanting wicked things? A week after the raccoon’s death, the turtle was accused of being a Bad One. Bad Ones could not be crushed. Whether it was because they used spells and incantations or because they were protected by the devil, everyone agreed that it was physically impossible for a Bad One to be smashed and killed by rocks. “The turtle must be pressed!” spoke the badger. “We will place rocks on her, one by one, and see if the demon is crushed or
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If her ignorant neighbors had realized that turtles have a hard, protective shell, they would not have assumed that she was a Bad One and would not have put her to the stake. The turtle was the second animal executed in the Trials of 1692. Eight months later: The fox stood on a tree stump, with wide eyes to hide how exhausted he was. Finally realizing how out of control things had become, he made one last attempt to persuade his people of how foolish they were being. Above them, the same gray bird sat, perched in a tree, listening. “Before last February, any animal living in this forest would have said that it was a pure, warm-hearted place for a family to live. Do you all realize that in the last eight months, 25 of your friends, family, and neighbors were murdered? Do you realize that every day, when your children play and hop around, they are terrified that they will make a wrong move and someone will accuse them of being a Bad One? In all of my life, I have never seen such disorder. The insanity needs to stop now. No more gossiping about each other. No more accusing each other. We are supposed to be a community, and I am honestly ashamed at how things have turned out. Whether ‘Bad Ones’ are real or not, we all need to stop being so
If her ignorant neighbors had realized that turtles have a hard, protective shell, they would not have assumed that she was a Bad One and would not have put her to the stake. The turtle was the second animal executed in the Trials of 1692. Eight months later: The fox stood on a tree stump, with wide eyes to hide how exhausted he was. Finally realizing how out of control things had become, he made one last attempt to persuade his people of how foolish they were being. Above them, the same gray bird sat, perched in a tree, listening. “Before last February, any animal living in this forest would have said that it was a pure, warm-hearted place for a family to live. Do you all realize that in the last eight months, 25 of your friends, family, and neighbors were murdered? Do you realize that every day, when your children play and hop around, they are terrified that they will make a wrong move and someone will accuse them of being a Bad One? In all of my life, I have never seen such disorder. The insanity needs to stop now. No more gossiping about each other. No more accusing each other. We are supposed to be a community, and I am honestly ashamed at how things have turned out. Whether ‘Bad Ones’ are real or not, we all need to stop being so