The Buzzing Spring

I crouched behind the open hallway door and found a coiled metal spring sticking straight out from the baseboard. It had a blunt rubber cap on the tip. Curious, I pressed down on the cap with both front paws, bending the stiff wire down toward the floorboards. When my paws slipped, the spring snapped back with a sudden, ringing twang, vibrating into a rapid silver blur. I planted my feet firmly on the floor and stayed very still, watching it wobble until the hum softened into silence. After a quiet pause, I reached out and tapped it again just to feel the faint tremble under my paw.