Veterinary Tribulations

Every other Mom of a five year old envied Harold's Mom. And the reason for this was that Harold never minded going to the Doctor. In fact, Harold liked going to the Doctor. All those shiny instruments and needles and things fascinated him. The bandages and bottles were like toys, if only he were allowed to play with them, which he wasn't. As for the proddings and pokings, well they were the price to pay for the fun of a visit to the clinic.

"Good morning, Doctor," little Harold said, as the nurse helped him on to the examination table.

"Good morning, Harold," Dr. Murthy replied, placing his stethoscope on Harold's heart."

"What does this do, Doctor?" little Harold asked.

"Now Harold, let the Doctor ..."

"Oh, it's fine, Mrs. D'Souza, I like my patients to be enthusiastic. Harold, when I use this, I can hear your heartbeat. Then I can decide whether it's just right, too fast, or too slow."

Harold frowned thoughtfully. He was obedient in following the Doctor's instructions as the examination continued, but his thoughts were obviously elsewhere. Then, all of a sudden, he spoke.

"Do fish have heartbeats?"

"They sure do, Harold," the Doctor replied.

"And birds?"

"Now Harold ..."

"It's fine, Mrs. D'Souza, a boy can't learn if he doesn't ask questions. Yes, Harold, birds have heartbeats, too. Now, let the nurse take your height and weight and we're done. You're a strong, healthy boy, Harold."

"That's coz I always eat my vegetables. Are you sure fish and birds have heartbeats?"

If Harold's Mom had been paying attention, she would've been suspicious of this final question. She knew her boy well, and when he persisted like this, it meant trouble was brewing. But Harold's Mom was so happy with the Doctor's verdict on her son's health, music to her ears, that she didn't quite catch on.

So the phone call from Harold's teacher the next day came as a shock.

"He has never been so naughty before! Really, Mrs. D'Souza!" The teacher was almost hysterical.

Hastily requesting a fellow copywriter to cover for her in her absence from office, Mrs. D'Souza ran down to the parking lot, found her car and drove straight to Harold's school.

As she parked her car in the school lot, the security guard came over to her, grinning.

"You are Harold's Mom, aren't you? Quite a kid you got there, Ma'am. Wouldn't mind having a boy that spunky myself."

"You know about his trouble? What has he done?"

The security guard threw back his head and laughed.

"Well you know, Ma'am the school has a little nature room - nothing too fancy, just some plants and rocks and stuff and a fish tank and some birdcages and hamsters and stuff."

She was starting to sweat. She remembered Harold's questions to the Doctor. Could it be ...

"Well, Ma'am," the security guard continued, between chuckles, "your boy, he opened all the cages and scooped out all the fish ..."

She didn't wait to hear more. With a gulped 'thanks' she ran for the school office.

"Mom! What are you doing here?"

"Harold! What are you?"

"They've sent me to meet the Principal because I wanted to check if all the fish and things in the school zoo had a proper heartbeat. All of them have, Mom."

"And I'm happy to say -" came a deep, booming voice from behind them. Both of them turned to see the senior science teacher coming in with a smile. "I'm happy to say they still have a heartbeat. None of the creatures died, Mrs. D'Souza, not even a fish. Your boy was careful with them."

"Oh, Mr. Philip, your reassurance sounds so sweet to me. I thought ... I thought ..."

The door to the Principal's private office opened and the Principal herself walked out.

"Did I hear you say all the creatures are okay?" she asked Mr. Philip.

"All fine, with healthily beating hearts!"

"Thank you, Mr. Philip. Please return to your class. And drop little Harold off to his class on the way, won't you? Mrs. D'Souza, would you like a cup of tea? Come in and join me."

Over tea, little Harold's Mom heard the best news of all. Her boy wasn't going to be expelled or even punished. The school admired his scientific bent of mind and were amazed at how gently and carefully he had handled the animals at his age. The Principal was going to do everything she could to encourage him.

'Good' and 'Naughty' are in the eye of the beholder.