RemoveAug 18, 2008It Was a Dark and Stormy Night. The inevitable ending pt. 4 {Before you read this, be sure to see chapter 3. I'm posting them at the same time.}Puff's demise came quickly. It was during a winter holiday from school, so she was home again, mercifully. No children had to witness her quick descent into a thin fur-covered shadow of her former self. In the last days Puff quit eating and drinking, quickly dwindling down to a hunched listless old lady. One morning she was just gone, her tiny corpse stretched out and emaciated. Since it was deep winter, there was no way to bury her, and she deserved much more than a casual toss into the trash. So I gift wrapped her. And put her little brightly wrapped box into a zip-lock bag. And stored her in the chest freezer in the garage till we could do a proper burial. My daughter, on a chocolate foray in my absence, came upon the lovely little box. But being an almost-adult living away from home, decided that maybe since that box had been given such special treatment, even if it WERE chocolate, maybe it would be best not to open it, thus saving herself a lifetime of therapy.In the spring, Puff was given a quiet little burial in the flower garden under a stepping stone to deter any curious diggers out there. No other tiny mammal ever graced our lives like that little blonde sweetie, Puff.