In the humid heart of the Florida Everglades, Sally the Skunk Ape was feeling a bit peckish.
She didn’t want the usual wild berries or fermented swamp cabbage; she wanted something with a hearty crunch.
Standing on the muddy bank, she spotted her target: a ten-foot alligator that thought it was the undisputed king of the lily pads.
It was currently eyeing her with a mixture of predatory suspicion and boredom, its eyes just barely breaking the surface of the tea-colored water.
“Come on now, big fella!” Sally chirped, her glowing amber eyes sparkling with mischief.
“You’re looking like a five-course meal today!”
With a joyful leap that sent a spray of swamp water into the air, Sally splashed right into the muck.
The alligator hissed and thrashed, but it was too late.
Sally wrapped her shaggy, reddish-brown arms around the beast in a giant, powerful hug.
The struggle was a chaotic, splashy dance; they rolled through the reeds, sending a halo of water droplets flying into the air that shimmered like diamonds in the golden swamp light.
The reptile fought hard, snapping its jaws and whipping its tail, but Sally was far stronger than her whimsical appearance suggested.
She held on tight, pinned the creature down in the shallows, and made quick work of the hunt.
A short while later, the splashing stopped.
Sally climbed back onto the shore, dragging the heavy prize behind her.