The First Friend

The first friend I ever made was a small orange salamander. I'd picked it up from the road near my house—it seemed that a lot of salamanders had to cross that road.

Anyway, I'd been having a hard time making friends in school. So I carried the salamander around for a while in my shirt pocket, and then brought it home and put it in an old, empty aquarium that my brother had found behind the science building.

I put rocks and grass inside the aquarium, and gave the salamander a secret name that only I knew. But then, I forgot to put water in the aquarium.

The next day, the salamander was all dried out, like astronaut food. I buried it in my mother's flower garden with a trowel.

The thing is, that when you make a friend, you don't always know how to take care of them. Sometimes you might not give them enough water, or what have you. It's important to keep an open mind, so you don't inadvertantly harm your friends.

Some friends are more fragile than others.