Should Have Could Have Did Not

A rattle snake sunning itself on a well walked hiking path. I should have killed it I had a 410 shot pistol carried just for that purpose. I just edged around it and walked on. I mean it really was a beautiful creature. Later that day talking to a fellow walker he mentioned a lady had got bit by a rattler on that same path just an hour after my meeting with it. Sometimes you have to select between two likely evils or two predictably bad choices and let Intention and outcomes fall as they may, especially if you are too nervy or cautious to prod a snake away with a stick.