A Pyrrhic Victory

Inspired by the 28th Nov ’23 word of the day Pyrrhic

The family was stunned as they looked around them.

The parents had just returned with their three children from a family friendly Christmas event held in the City Centre. It had been a joyful day of meeting Santa, snowball wars, cotton candy treats a Christmas parade and finally seeing the lighting of the towering Christmas tree in the heart of the town before they headed back.

As the event wasn’t pet friendly, and it was too cold to lock pets outside, they decided to leave their dogs, a terrier mix appropriately named Terry and elderly St. Bernard inside the house. The dogs have always been well behaved in the past, so they didn’t expect this day to be any different.

But what greeted them as they walked in the door shocked them greatly.

In the living room, the Christmas tree had been knocked over and the tip of it now rested in the fireplace. The presents that were initially beneath the tree were scattered around the house, some trampled, others totally destroyed.

Chairs had been knocked over in the dining room and the vase of flowers that was the centerpiece on the table now lay shattered on the floor, water everywhere, and the flowers, once on proud display in the vase was now a trail that led to the children’s bedroom.

In the playhouse of the children’s room, Benny, the St. Bernard, could be seen sound asleep. It’s always been his favourite place to lie down when left to his own devices. But there was no sign of Terry.

The family continued to walk through the house, following the trail of destruction.

In the kitchen, the platters of food that had been on display on the kitchen bench, carefully covered to protect from any unwanted pests were now scattered all over the floor, with half the food missing, possibly eaten.

And there, just inside the back door sat Terry. As the family approached, Terry looked proud of himself, as he dropped the half dead mouse by their feet, in a show of grandeur that said: Look what I caught!