Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-05-03
This and That
By Charles E. TracetoeH

Well. the possum was still on the roof,
and what was to be done about him?
He comes every night between II and
am. There he perched. looking around, his
long tail hanging over the edge.
He arrives by way Of a large evergreen.
Many suggestions have been received as
to his destruction. trapping, eating.
Opossums are good only to be eaten, ac-
cording to one. Another says 1t should be
trapped and taken to the forest.
Only a few understand that a possum
on the roof can be something interesting.
The idea was conceived to catch him in Q
specially designed trap so as not to hurt him.
The idea included photography however
not carting OF.
The idea was to take the creatures pic
ture!
There already are good photos Of possums
but this would be the only picture In the
world Of ones own special possum 4 beast
with a sense of humor.
The idea was to trap him. then pose him
for q good photograph. to show his bland
smile.
There is many a slip, 1t has been said, be-
tween the cup and the lip.
Evidently the old saying applies to beasts
Of the forest, too.
1t was. like greater matters, in the lap
of the gods.
Man proposes to catch possum, as many
have found out before. but the minds of
wild creatures think differently.
The trouble. In nature. is often this:
That there is never Just one animal. in
nature. but many.
In addition to the poSsum, (now named
Possy) there was Maltie. the cat, to be con-
sidered. though no one knew that at the
time
Time reveals many odd things.
It is one thing to think up a soap box
trap for a possum, and quite another one to
catch the creature.
%HS
The soap box trap was made with a stick
to hold the front end Of the box up SUFFICIENT
~ to let the possum 60 under.
To the stick was affixed a string, and to
the end Of the string nice hunk Of suet.
Possums are fond of many foods. They
often come Ito bird feeding stations where
suet and bread are placed.
Sometimes. they are so tame and amiable
they will take foods from human hands.
Nor is there any danger In the transfer
These fellows have magnificent teeth. but
are not given to biting. II cornered they
prefer to play dead" One of natures odd
est tricks.
The idea Of the trap was to induce the
possum into the box. where he was supposed
to seize the bait.
In doing 50. he was supposed to give the
stick yank, permitting the box to fall
over him.
Well. the trap was set and baited at the
foot Of the evergreen by the corner OF the
porch.
There was no use waiting for him, because
he stayed up too late. That was another
idea. He would not come until midnight, at
the earliest. and while one might desire to
be there at the kill. 1t was better to 20 to bed
In the morning the possum would be right
there in his box. fat and saucy, ready to
pose for his picture.
1t was midnight, al right, when the trap
was sprung
But what was this?
Instead Of the peaceful paw scraping Of
trapped possum. there came thunder Of
meows.
No possum in the wild world ever made
such . racket.
The box reared and thumped there In the
darkness.
From beneath 1t came feline maledictions
on the world. and especially the world Of
humans. persons 30 careless and uninteIli-
gent as to bait trap with suet, not worth
eating, anyway.
From the box strutted an indignant NAL
tese cat. little eyes glazing meows mixed
with Snarls.
1t was old Malty, substituting In moment
Of chagrin for one old opossum.
And Possy? He's still appearing on the
roof every night between midnight and
I ana.