WTF!?

I have a cool cat named Merlin. One of his best attributes is his willingness to take care of pests. If I see a spider in my apartment, I just show Merlin. He'll fixate on it, play with it for a little while, then eat it. It's a good system we've got going. I've done this with earwigs, potato bugs, flies, and small beetles. (My apartment's not infested...I promise. I live right by a river and there are insects everywhere). Sometimes, Merlin spots the intruders before I do. On plenty of occasions, I'll walk into a room and see him torturing some poor, helpless creature. I had gotten used to it. Then, one evening last week, I walked into the living room and saw Merlin standing over this.

I was stunned. There was a snake. Inside. My apartment. I just stood there for a moment taking it in. I have a pretty strong fear of spiders. Snakes...not so much. But still...there was a SNAKE inside my apartment. That's not supposed to happen. After a second or two of disbelief I sprung into action before Merlin could terrorize the little bastard any more. I picked him up by the tail. He was a tiny little guy. Obviously, I had to take more pictures. This one is for some perspective on size. See? Pretty small.

Here he is curled up in the glass I used to carry him outside and release him.

Again...I'm not afraid of snakes. But I was much more shocked by this than if I had seen a spider.

I think Merlin was a little pissed at me. It was by far the biggest prize he's ever gotten...and I took it away from him. Plenty more spiders to come Merlin.