TOM AND DANIEL
“Many of you dogs who have never lived on a ranch or a farm, may not know that a dog and a tom turkey can be just as unfriendly as a dog and a cat,” said the Judge, as he thought of a story which illustrated this point.
“There seems to be a sort of jealousy between them, which manifests itself at a very early age, and develops into bitter hatred as they grow older. This was the case with Tom and the collie I am telling you of.
“The puppy and the turkey came into the world at about the same time, and the little lady who owned them divided her attention between them. Young turkeys are delicate little creatures and require the greatest care to get them started. The puppy was usually at the heels of his mistress when she fed the turkeys, but, instead of pretending to help, as he did with the little chickens, he would bark and snap at them, frightening them.
“In the flock there was one young Tom who early showed a disposition to defend himself, and his puppyship got many a peck on the nose. Thus began the trouble which led to war, and many a battle royal was fought between them, but there was never any bloodshed.
“Their maneuvering took place around the woodpile back of the house. The turkey would be strutting in all the glory of his brilliant plumage and war paint, arrogant and ready to battle any intruder. Along would come Daniel. With a war whoop of a gobble, Tom would start after the dog, and round and round the woodpile they would go, with Daniel just a few steps ahead of his pursuer, until, tired out, he would hop on to the woodpile and bark insultingly at his enemy. The turkey would puff up his feathers, drop his wings, spread out his tail, and look as if he were bursting with rage.
A Battle Between the Two Warriors
“When he could stand it no longer, Tom would fly at Daniel, who knew the tactics of the bird, and would dodge to one side, so that his majesty would land on the other side. This was just what Daniel had in mind when he mounted the fort; and now it was his chance to be the pursuer instead of the pursued. Again around and around they would go, until both were almost exhausted.
“The lady decided to sell the young gobbler, and he was taken several miles to a new home, and Daniel was left to his possessions.
“One day, several months after Tom’s departure, the lady had occasion to go to the place where the gobbler was sold. She took the dog with her and left him in the car while she did her errand.
“Returning to the car, she found Daniel gone. Then she heard a familiar bark, answered by a warlike gobble, and she saw that a battle was on between the two warriors, as of old. Instead of the woodpile, a small building was their fortress this time. Not only a dog never forgets, but a turkey gobbler seems to be neither a forgiver nor a forgetter.
“That is all of that story,” the Judge told his audience, “and next time I am going to tell you about a blind man’s dog.”