--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After that summer, after being friends…" description: "\"“After that summer, after being friends with Won-a-nee and her young, I never killed another otter. I had an otter cape for my shoulders, which I used ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/scott-o-dell-44353_animals_after-that-summer-after-being-friends-wi_1075096.jpg" --- # After that summer, after being friends with Won-a-nee and… ![“After that summer, after being friends with Won-a-nee and her young, I never killed another otter. I had an otter cape for my shoulders, which I used until it wore out, but never again did I make a new one. Nor did I ever kill another cormorant for its beautiful feathers, though they have long…” quote by Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/scott-o-dell-44353_animals_after-that-summer-after-being-friends-wi_1075096.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/scott-o-dell-44353_animals_after-that-summer-after-being-friends-wi_1075096.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/scott-o-dell-44353_animals_after-that-summer-after-being-friends-wi_1075096.jpg) > ““After that summer, after being friends with Won-a-nee and her young, I never killed another otter. I had an otter cape for my shoulders, which I used until it wore out, but never again did I make a new one. Nor did I ever kill another cormorant for its beautiful feathers, though they have long, think necks and make ugly sounds when they talk to each other. Nor did I kill seals for their sinews, using instead kelp to bind the things that needed it. Nor did I kill another wild dog, nor did I try to speak another sea elephant. Ulape would have laughed at me, and other would have laughed, too -- my father most of all. Yet this is the way I felt about the animals who had become my friends and those who were not, bu in time could be. If Ulape and my father had come back and laughed, and all the other had come back and laughed, still I would have felt the same way, for animals and birds are like people, too, though they do no talk the same or do the same things. Without them the earth would be an unhappy place.”” [Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator learns to respect all animals, seeing them as companions rather than resources, and chooses compassion over exploitation. **In simple terms:** Respect animals as friends, not food. Key Takeaway Choose compassion over killing. Themes compassion environment animal rights empathy Mood reflective melancholic Type narrative ethical When to use this quote - hunting - fishing - wildlife observation - conservation education Key Concepts ethical stewardship anthropomorphism Questions to Reflect On - How can we extend empathy to all living beings? - What habits must we change to protect wildlife? A Different Perspective Human habits often conflict with compassion for nature. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ## Related quotes > [If we kill off the wild, then we are killing a part of our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/if-we-kill-off-the-wild-then-we-are-killing-a-part-of-our-souls/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [We need to learn how to capture and kill wild fish humanely - or, if that is not possible, to find less cruel and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/we-need-to-learn-how-to-capture-and-kill-wild-fish-humanely-or-if/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I have been brought up in a house where animals are our friends and we treat them as equals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-akkineni/i-have-been-brought-up-in-a-house-where-animals-are-our-friends-and/) [Akhil Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-akkineni/) > [“Aa is for animals, friends, not food. We don't eat our friends. They would find it quite rude!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-roth/aa-is-for-animals-friends-not-food-we-don-t-eat-our-friends-they/) Ruby Roth > [Treat other animals as friends and they become friends. Treat other animals as family and they become family. Give other animals your love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-d-williams/treat-other-animals-as-friends-and-they-become-friends-treat-other/) [Anthony D. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-d-williams/) > [Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/animals-are-my-friends-and-i-don-t-eat-my-friends/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The only honest reaction and true loyalty we get is from our animals. Once they're your friends, you can do no wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-van-patten/the-only-honest-reaction-and-true-loyalty-we-get-is-from-our-animals/) [Dick Van Patten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-van-patten/) > [Animals may be our friends, but they won't pick you up at the airport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobcat-goldthwait/animals-may-be-our-friends-but-they-won-t-pick-you-up-at-the-airport/) [Bobcat Goldthwait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobcat-goldthwait/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) ## More by Scott O'Dell > [“For a long time I called it Otter as I had called Rontu, Dog. Then I decided to give the otter a name. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-o-dell/for-a-long-time-i-called-it-otter-as-i-had-called-rontu-dog-then-i/) [Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) > [“My brother Ramo was only a little boy half my age, which was twelve. He was small for one who had lived so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-o-dell/my-brother-ramo-was-only-a-little-boy-half-my-age-which-was-twelve-he/) [Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) > [The annual award of $5,000 goes to an author for a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults. Scott…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-o-dell/the-annual-award-of-5-000-goes-to-an-author-for-a-meritorious-book/) [Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) > [Many of our tribe went to the cliff each night to count the number killed during the day. They counted the dead otter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-o-dell/many-of-our-tribe-went-to-the-cliff-each-night-to-count-the-number/) [Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) > [More than anything, it was the blue dolphins that took me back home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-o-dell/more-than-anything-it-was-the-blue-dolphins-that-took-me-back-home/) [Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) > [They were black like a lizard's and very large and, like the eyes of a lizard, could sometimes look sleepy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-o-dell/they-were-black-like-a-lizard-s-and-very-large-and-like-the-eyes-of-a/) [Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) > [Below me Rontu was running along the cliffs barking at the screaming gulls. Pelicans were chattering as they finished the blue water. But suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-o-dell/below-me-rontu-was-running-along-the-cliffs-barking-at-the-screaming/) [Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) > [“I REMEMBER the day the Aleut ship came to our island. At first it seemed like a small shell afloat on the sea. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-o-dell/i-remember-the-day-the-aleut-ship-came-to-our-island-at-first-it/) [Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) [Explore all 9 Scott O'Dell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“After that summer, after being friends with Won-a-nee and her young, I never killed another otter. I had an otter cape for my shoulders, which I used until it wore out, but never again did I make a new one. Nor did I ever kill another cormorant for its beautiful feathers, though they have long, think necks and make ugly sounds when they talk to each other. Nor did I kill seals for their sinews, using instead kelp to bind the things that needed it. Nor did I kill another wild dog, nor did I try to speak another sea elephant. Ulape would have laughed at me, and other would have laughed, too -- my father most of all. 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