April 7: Old Bob - Grandpa's Story

Grandpa, Old Bob and one of the "kittens".

 When Grandpa told the story it sounded like music,
   His voice had a soft rhythm to it that soothed
Put babies and grandchildren in a drowsy condition.
   And comforted us in the repetition of sound and meaning.

           Old Bob

One time they had a cemetery workin’ down at our house.
   They cleaned the graves off and had a big dinner
Down at the cemetery
   Not far from where we lived.

So late that evenin' some people had brought
   A little collie pup to the cemetery
And they went off and forgot it.
   So the little pup come down to our house.

It had a little short tail, and so I named it Bob.
   So I’d feed old Bob some cornbread and milk,
Potatoes and things to eat n’ finally old Bob got about half growed
   And she got to catchin’ my mama’s chickens. 

So, I got me a switch and I give Old Bob a whippin’.
   Well, old Bob quit catchin’ chickens. 
She decided it didn’t pay to catch chickens;
   Cause I’d give her a whippin’.

So, my dad; his cows use to get in the fields,
   So we’d hold old Bob up and point down the field and say,
“Go get those cows outta the fields, Bob.”  So, Old Bob
   Would go a runnin’ down across the pasture, barkin’. 

So, directly those old cows would hear Old Bob barkin’
   And they’d raise their heads and see old Bob a runnin’ down across the pasture
And they’d say, “ Uh, oh, here comes old Bob! We’d better get back in the pasture.” 
   So, they’d make a run for the pasture.

Old Bob would get down there and
   She’d grab ‘em by the tail
And she’d bite their tail and make ‘em wish
   They’d never got in that corn patch.

One mornin’ real early; why, my daddy heard old Bob
   A barkin at somethin’ under the house. 
So, he got up and throwed some rocks under there
   And he run a skunk out from under the house.  

So, Old Bob... (he said, “Git that skunk, Bob!”)
   And Old Bob grabbed that skunk and shook him to pieces — and killed him! 
Old skunk he turned his scent aloose on Old Bob
    And made Old Bob mad. 

So, all day long every time she’d go by there
   And see that skunk~
She’d grab that old skunk
And just shake him good.

One time, there was a gin tank close to our house
    And ducks ‘d fly and light in that tank. 
So, we heard someone shoot their gun, “Bang, bang, bang!” 
   After a while the hunters come up to the back door.

And it was a rainin’ and cloudy.  It was wintertime. 
   They said, “Mr. King, we shot some ducks down at the tank
And we was a wonderin’ if you could get your dog to pull ‘em out for us. 
   So, we took our dog down there and the tank had a bunch of cattails in it. 

You couldn’t see the ducks, but the hunters knew where they fell at,
   So, they’d throw a rock in the cattails
And Old Bob’d go a swimmin’ out through the cattails. 
   Then, she’d come a swimmin’ back with another duck in her mouth. 

So, they shot another duck over in the cattails and they throwed another rock over there
   And Old Bob went a swimmin’ out there
And come back with another duck in her mouth. 
They got three ducks out of that tank before they finished.

Used to you’d hear Old Bob a barkin’ out in the pasture and you’d go out there
    And she’d have a snake treed.  And we’d say, “Git ‘im Old Bob!” 
Boy, you’d better get back out of the way,
   Cause she’d shake that snake all over the place.

One time Old Bob found her some little pups. 
   I’d never saw any little pups an’ I saw ‘em
And called to my mama and said,
   “Old Bob got some little kittens!”

One time I went up to my grandma’s
   And I took Old Bob and my little wagon. 
So my grandma made some harness out of twine string
   To put on Old Bob.  We hooked Old Bob to that wagon an’ Old Bob’d pull the wagon. 

So, I went home late that evenin’.  I got down close to the barn
   And I decided I’d like to ride in that wagon. 
I crawled in that wagon and I told Old Bob to ‘get up!’. 
   So, Old Bob started a runnin’ off with the wagon. 

She run around the corner of the barn and hung the wheels
   On the corner of the barn and turned the wagon over
‘N spilt me out on the ground. 
   So, I decided I didn’t want to ride in that wagon ‘n I got out

I got a hold of a rope and led Old Bob the rest of the ways to the house. 
   She pulled the wagon. 
I didn’t try to ride in that wagon no more,
Cause I didn’t want to get dumped out in that ground.


© circa 1959 as told by Thomas Adolph King to his adoring grandchildren

Grandpa had other colorful Old Bob stories including one that involved fishing, a large group of boys and a lighted stick of dynamite. I'll save that one for another time though.