Sunday, August 17, 2008

Old Tales From The South - As Remembered by Bob & Rick Gurkin - Grandpa Kader & The Fox

Grandpa Kader and the Fox

One hot summer night we were all laying up in the house' long about 11 0' clock, when we heard a ruckus out by the hen house. Ole Blue, Grandpa Kader's best hound, was baying to the world, that something was wrong, and Buster and Pepper were helping him right along. Rightly figuring that something was going on at the hen house Grandpa grabbed his double barreled, 12 gauge, loaded with double ought buck shot and headed on the run. Bo Beasley and me were right behind him. I had the kerosene lantern and just followed Grandpa. His nightshift was flapping around his knees and his heels were flashing in the lantern light. Buster was loping along with us and his big ole ears were flapping with each stride he made. When we got to the hen house, they were all screeching and squawking and Grandpa shushed us to be quite, like whatever was in the hen house didn't know we were there. Grandpa eased into the Chicken yard with Buster right along. I was holding the lantern high so' as Grandpa could see and I was just behind Buster. Grandpa eased the double barrels of the shotgun through the door of the chicken house and was trying to look in to see what was fussing at the chickens. I don't know if you have had any dealings with a hound dog, but they have got about the best nose for tracking man or beast that has ever been put on a dog. But that nose is about as cold as an ice cube. As Grandpa bent over to look in the chicken house, Buster stuck that cold nose up under his nightshift and kind of nuzzled him a little bit higher up. Grandpa screeched about as loud as the chickens and let loose with both barrels of that 12 gauge. When the white chicken feathers started to settle, it looked like we were standing in a snowstorm. We plucked and larded chickens for the next 2 days and Grandma Estelle finally got that down mattress she had been pining for.

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