Battle with the Crab

I’m not quite sure how, but a rather large crab manage to make a home in my room. On Tuesday afternoon I was sitting at my desk. It was quiet. All the students had gone home for the day, and I was productively grading. All of a sudden I hear a noise and a strange rustling of papers. I look down and under my table is a huge crab! He had taken a stack of papers and was crinkling them up to make a home. I was shocked for a second and just watched in awe. The crab quickly sensed my eyes upon him and began scurrying across my room towards the door. I tried to round him up and get him outside, but the little bugger was too quick for me. He turned himself sideways and wedged himself between a crevice created by the the doorframe and the corner. He was holding his position, and I could not get him out. Wanting to go home, I gave up and decided to deal with him in the morning. (Who knows how long he had already been living in my room!) 

Once I got to school I quickly glanced around the room and didn’t see him, but 10 minutes later he crept out of a large box that sits under a table in my teacher’s corner. A student left his basketball shoes in his my room, and the next thing I know Mr. Crab is trying to fit himself inside the shoes, but when he can’t get in, he perches himself on top of the pair of shoes and tries to appear invisible. I just laughed and decided I would let my students deal with it. 

The school bell finally rang and my 4th period began shuffling in. As they were getting situation I asked, “So who likes crabs?” Some raised their hands. Others looked confused. Next I asked “So who wants to chase a crab out of the room?” They all got really excited and kept shouting, “There’s a crab!? There’s a crab!?” I told the students where it was and they were immediately and enthusiastically on the problem. 

It took 4 kids to wrangle the crab out of the room. They used a variety of instruments to help with the process: a pencil, a rolled up poster, a broom stick, a backpack. After a few minutes of struggling with the massive crab, they kids managed to get him into the backpack. One of the students wanted to let him stay in the back pack so he could keep him as a pet, but I had them release it back outside. 

I wish I had a camera with me to document the event. But I guess this kind of thing happens when you live on an island and teach at a school 60 feet from the ocean!?