The Test

            The boy fidgeted with his belt and looked up at his grandfather.
            “Now, that elk might come at you,” said the old man.
            “Yeh.”
            “Ain’t nothing he can do when you got the gun.”
            “Yeh.”
            His grandfather got into his old truck and drove off, down through the woods to his breakfast table.
            The boy crouched where he had been told and waited. Each time the breeze brushed through the woods, he pictured a wolf or bear getting a hold of him - if anything had come, he’d have been too frightened to lift the gun. But he didn't dare leave.