“When He Comes Out Of The Briar Patch…”
Anytime I had a chance to talk with Arnold I enjoyed it. He was a character, to say the least. One had a hard time deciding the difference between him being serious and when he was jesting. He could tell a tale. Most of the time, when he finished a tale, the hearers would be laughing. He could get you tickled all over, more than any place else.
I happened across Arnold one morning. He was on his way to get a cup of coffee at a local restaurant. I tagged along as I had some available time. After we got our coffee we sat down at a table where several of his “coffee drinking buddies” were seated. In a good natured way they were laughing and teasing one another. It was obvious they enjoyed being with each other. Soon Arnold was spinning a tale. He said, “There was a fellow that had himself a fine, fine rabbit huntin’ beagle-dog. Never did he fail to get a mess of rabbits when they went a’huntin’. Pretty soon the word spread about the dog, and their success, all around the area. Folks far and wide were a’talkin’ about it. After a while, two of his buddies decided they would just get him to take them with him when he and the dog were a’headin’ out. So one morning they showed up at his house and insisted that the day was perfect for a good day to get a mess of rabbits for stewin’. They convinced him to go. Well, he got his shotgun, whistled for dog. The beagle came quickly, obviously excited about the adventure. The two fellows loaded their shotguns and off they went. They got up on the ridge above the house where a bunch of briar patches were located. The owner of the dog told them to get ready. He told the beagle to go. Right into the middle of the briar patch that little dog went. The beagle did not make a sound. After a few minutes he reappeared, right in front of the men with their shotguns. The dog barked at them, two times. He then turned and headed back into the briar patch. At that moment the owner of the dog told his buddies to get ready for the beagle was fixin’ to deliver. One of the men asked him what he meant. The owner of the dog explained it to them. He said, ‘Didn’t my dog tell you he was a’bringin’ you some rabbits?’ The two men looked at each other, then one said, ‘All your dog did was run up in front of us, barked two times, and turned and went back in the briar patch.’ The owner of dog said, ‘That’s right. He told you there were two rabbits in that briar patch, and he told you to get ready ‘cause he was gonna’ run ‘um out of there’. About that time here they came. Two rabbits. The men were so dumbfounded they did not shoot a one of them. Fortunately, the owner of the dog got both of them. They went on to the next briar patch and the dog did the same thing; only this time the dog barked three times. Sure enough, three rabbits came from the briar patch. This time they got two of them. Well the adventure went on for some time with the same thing happening each time. Soon, they had several rabbits in their duck-back coats. Finally, the owner of the dog told them they would go to one more briar patch and then would call it quits. As before, when they reached the briar patch the little dog took off. He was gone for the longest time. The two men were wondering out loud were the beagle had gone. All of a sudden the little beagle came out of the briar patch, carrying a stick in his mouth. The dog approached the men, got in front of them, and began shaking his head back and forth; still holding the stick in his mouth. Then the dog dropped the stick and turned back towards the briar patch. One of the men said, ‘Why, that dog has lost his mind. Every time, up until now, he has barked the number of rabbits that he was going to chase out of the briar patch as a way of tellin’ us how many to get ready to shoot. This time, he was only carryin’ a stick to shake out us. He’s done and gone crazy’. Totally unfazed by the comments, the owner of the dog proceeded to set things straight. He said, “When he comes out of the briar patch a’shakin’ a stick at you he’s a’tellin’ you that there’s more rabbits in that briar patch than you can shake a stick at.’ About that time here they came!”
Personally, I do not like to eat rabbits; particularly rabbit stew. I do not like to have a hare in my soup