A father and his young son went out hunting together for the very first time. As they reached the edge of a field, the father turned to his boy and said:

“Now listen, son—stay right here and be very quiet. I’m going to walk across the field and circle back.”

A couple hours passed, and then suddenly the father heard a blood-curdling scream echo through the woods! He came running back, heart pounding.

“What happened?! I told you to be quiet!” he said.

The boy, eyes wide and still catching his breath, replied:

“Dad… I was quiet. I didn’t say a word when a snake slithered over my boots. I stayed still as a statue when a bear sniffed the back of my neck. I didn’t flinch when a skunk tiptoed across my shoulder. I held my breath when a wasp stung me, didn’t cough when I swallowed a gnat, and I didn’t even scratch when the poison oak started itching.”

“But when two squirrels crawled up my pant leg and one said, ‘Hey, should we eat them here or take them with us?’… Well, that’s when I lost it.”