Hawk and Little Hare

Hawk and Little Hare

         The sun glares relentlessly at the desert landscape. Layers of heat, like invisible silk, shimmer on the barren ground. Saguaros rise defiantly from the earth, making rude gestures to the cloudless sky.
         Our hero, the red-tailed hawk, finds a particularly tall saguaro from which to survey his surroundings. Landing on its top takes great care, as he has to nestle his talons among the unwelcoming spines. He is unaware of his own skilled landing, however, or even his reason for landing there.
         An observant human would probably state that the hawk chooses this point in order to hunt, that he hunts in order to eat, that he eats in order to live to and to reproduce, and so on. But the hawk doesn't care about any of that.
         His occipital lobe is smaller than a pinhead, but proportionally more than twice that of a human's. His eyes have five times the photo receptors of human eyes. Our hero, the hawk, can even see in ultraviolet
         So it is that, while the humans spend their time contemplating things like the meaning of life, metacognition, and whether or not to buy the newest gadget, the hawk hunts with his amazing eyes. His brain is too busy looking for dinner to be bothered with silly human trifles.
         And then it appears. About a mile away, the small brown hare foolishly moseys into the hawk's incredible view. Subjectively, it could be described as cute, with its downy fur and big ears. Objectively, it is a source of sustenance.
         The hawk spreads his wings, focusing on his target. With a couple lazy flaps, he separates from the saguaro.
         The hare nibbles on a lone piece of grass. A shadow streaks over him and he freezes in terror.
         The hawk begins his dive. He does not take his eyes off his target. The ground, and the scrumptious meal, fly toward him. Then, just as the hawk is about to make contact, the hare vanishes with a squeak and a flash of fur and feathers.
         Our hero lands where the little hare used to be. He is hungry. He tilts his head and sees the bigger, and stronger, female streaking across the sky with the warm meal hanging from her talons.