One morning, early in the winter, Amos went into the woods to look at
two of his traps. As he came near the first one, he saw that a fine
mountain mink was caught in it. The poor creature was struggling to
escape, but the teeth of the trap held its leg so firmly that the more
it tried to get away, the more cruelly its flesh was torn.
Amos ran toward the trap, when suddenly his foot slipped, and he was
thrown violently to the ground. He felt a sharp pain in his ankle, which
was held fast so that he could not move. He was caught in the other
trap, which, in his excitement, he had forgotten.
He was not frightened at first, for he thought he could easily set
himself free, but the chain would not yield an inch. Soon his ankle
began to swell, causing him the most intense pain when he tried to move.
The teeth of the trap pressed closer and closer into the aching flesh,
and he knew that he could only wait for help to come to him.
Not far from where he lay was the mink, suffering similar agony, and
after struggling in vain to set himself free Amos watched the
frightened, trembling little creature. It panted with terror, uttering
now and then low moans of pain.
For the first time, Amos realized how cruel he had been, and as he
thought of the long hours which would pass before any one came to look
for him, he wished that he might at least set his fellow-sufferer free.
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