One day, as I entered the garage from the kitchen, a wood chuck came running out from under my car. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. After all, when you live in a woods, as we do, you are bound to encounter a certain number of woodland creatures.

But, as time went on, I noticed that the wood chuck seemed to be hanging around underneath the car on a regular basis. And at times, I would hear what sounded like gnawing sounds.

Again, I dismissed the events. After all, what could interest a wood chuck underneath the car? Road salt?

Then one day, as I was coming back from Ann Arbor, my engine started heating up. So, I got off at the closest exit to inspect the engine.

When I raised the hood and peered underneath it, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked like my radiator had melted. The whole back of it was shredded. But what could possible have happened?

Finally, it dawned on me. The wood chuck. The wood chuck wasn’t after the road salt, he was after the anti-freeze. By scraping the back of the radiator with its paws and teeth, it was able to produce a small leak. And, since anti-freeze is sweet, the wood chuck was helping himself to a summer treat.

After we got the radiator replaced, we made a point of keeping the garage door closed. This seemed like the simplest solution to the problem.

When I related the story to my father-in-law, he found it to be far fetched. After all, that same wood chuck had been underneath his car from time to time when he was visiting us.

It wasn’t until he looked under the hood of his own car that he discovered the reality of what I was saying. There, before his very eyes, was his own radiator, shredded.

The wood chuck eventually died from lead poisoning.