Jiggly and Claws

When I was a little kid, the idea of a Venus Fly Trap always intrigued me. I sort of always wanted one, but wasn't sure if (1) they really existed (2) I could catch flies to feed it. So, when one of my students asked to bring his Venus Fly Trap in to be our "class pet," I was all for it. Little did I know what I was in for. 

When he walked in with it, the class went WILD (and I can't say I blamed them). There were actually TWO pods, so I guess we were getting two "pets." We had to find a safe spot for the plant (all the kids wanted to touch it), and we settled on the windowsill, and I told everyone not to touch it. When I went to check on the plants a few hours later (their names were "Jiggly" and "Claws"), Jiggly was looking....well, shriveled and dead. I was a little scared to tell the boy who had brought it in, because he is the MOST emotional 8 year old you will ever meet. When I mentioned it to him, he screamed so loudly that the teacher fron next door came in to make sure no one had been murdered. He cried for a while, then we found a new spot for it so that Claws might make it through the day (the boy was convinced that Jiggly had frozen to death next to the window). 

So for the rest of the day, all we really talked about was the Venus Fly Trap. Kids kept pulling on the leaves, talking to it, and trying to get it to bite their finger (even thought I told them 3 billion times not to touch it).  FINALLY, our "show and tell" time came, and the little emotional boy who had brought it was SO excited that he RAN over to the plant, crashed into it, and knocked it all over the floor....killing Claws. Again, he screamed for about 2 minutes, cried for 35 mintues, and finally we had a little eulogy for them both. Anyone who is bored with their current job should teach third grade.