A Bird In The Hand Is Twice Shy

Once upon a time, two siblings were exploring the forests and found something mysterious...

It was excessively furry, and had large, scaly wings, with shiny, jet black talons, and voluminous, ebony eyes...

It growled at Sam, who grabbed his spear and threatened the beast, jabbing it with the tip as a warning.

“Back! BACK!” he shouted, his moves growing increasingly confident in warding off the threat. Finally, with a powerful lunge, his actions paid off. With a howl, the beast lumbered off, leaving him exhausted but relieved. Kneeling, he sucked in a breath.

But a breath it wasn't. What is was was a well-aimed 1" iron ball-bearing. It lodged, horribly, in his trachea with an unceremonious thunk , a breath-ending life-ending plug half way down his throat. Leaping up he attempted a solo-Heimlich but it was no use. An icy hand took him.