The photo you are about to see captures a most rare and astounding interaction. Warning: it may be shocking to some viewers, particularly to those of the subspecies known as mothers. It occurred on an ordinary Tuesday evening, in the common habitat area known as the living room.

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A mother and her young had been engaging in an afternoon activity, when suddenly, instinct compelled her to remove herself from the vicinity of her offspring in order to begin her daily 5 pm ritual known as “making dinner” – a ritual that is often marked by incessant interruptions from said offspring, and a sharp rise in the blood pressure of the parent. It is a precarious hour, when the young are left more or less unattended to fend for themselves, and when their extreme hunger can often lead to dangerous and erratic behavior.

On this particular evening, however, the mother had very nearly completed her nightly task, when she realized she had not been interrupted. Not even once. Fearing that one of her young had surely devoured the other whole, she quickly went to investigate.

When entering the adjacent habitat of the living room, from which she had heretofore removed herself, she discovers that her young are not, in fact, eating each other, but instead spontaneously engaging quietly – without coercion or suggestion – in the joint activity known as “playing Uno.” The watchful eye of the mother also makes note of the remnants of a game of Connect Four. She lingers for a moment, watching to completion the remainder of the Uno game, when the winner is awarded a prize from the opposing player’s Halloween candy stash, and another round begins.

After a full assessment that all is well and good with her brood, the mother returns to her task at hand and, moments later, dinner is served – hot and prompt, at 6 pm. 

(Note: No individuals were harmed, coerced, or otherwise forced into the making of this image, though it has been reported that the mother very nearly died from a rather vague and ambiguous condition known as ‘disbelief’ upon witnessing it. Miraculously, she was able to regain her faculties, and thus complete the remainder of her evening tasks without further incident.)