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Old Man Moses
retold by
S. E. Schlosser

It's not hard to catch a meal in New Hampshire, no sir. Take my neighbor, Old Man Moses, who lives down a piece from me. One morning, Old Man Moses went out his kitchen door and found twelve turkeys on his fence. He figured one of them would make a good dinner, but he was afeared that if he went to get his gun, them turkeys would be gone when he returned.

So Old Man Moses tossed his ax at them turkeys, hoping to get at least one. But his ax caught the tree branch above the turkeys on the fence. The branch fell into the pond, taking the turkeys with it and trapping their legs right good. Old Man Moses went right into the pond after them turkeys, his great coat floating around him like a fishing net. By the time he came ashore, Old Man Moses had snagged himself twelve turkeys and a passel of fish for his supper. Ain't nowhere else I know of where you can catch a weeks worth of meals in under ten minutes 'cept in New Hampshire. Just ask Old Man Moses.

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© S.E. Schlosser 1997 - 2008.

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