17. In 1980, I turned 5 years-old, and although I was too old to chase anything, I still did. On one fateful day, I chased a rabbit into a hole, and that is when my whole world turned upside down. On what date did I chase that rabbit?
From Quiz Stephen King's "Cujo"
Answer:
June 16
I turned 5 years-old in 1980, and on June 16, 1980, I saw a rabbit just waiting to be chased. He didn't know I was so close to him, but when he realized how close I was he took off, with me chasing after him.
We zigzagged across the field several times, and finally he fell in a hole. Had I known how small the hole was, I wouldn't have chased him, but I can't change what I did. I ran after him and got my head stuck in the opening.
I got scared, because I was stuck, and started barking. What happened next still scares me when I think of it. I had no idea that the hole was occupied by bats, so when I started barking, I scared them and they all woke up. They attacked me and I used the only weapon I had to fight back...my teeth. I killed a few without getting any scratches. Just as I was getting good at killing the bats, one sidelined me and bit me on the nose, which hurt and frightened me so bad that I bit it in two.
The bat tasted horrible, and I pulled out of the hole, which I should have done in the first place, and went to the pond to get rid of the bat taste in my mouth. The hurting in my nose began to go away and I was feeling pretty good.
Little did I know that on that day my whole world was turned upside down, as I was attacked by a sick bat, and that the bat made me sick, too.