It was a picture that stopped you in your tracks; a magnificent sorrel stallion with nostrils flared, flames reflecting in his wild eyes, mane flying aloft and a ball offire roaring at the tip of his teeth! If ever there was a dragon horse snorting fire, this would be it.

This image was the brain searing mental picture I formed as CB spun me his tale. It seems CB had made his regular morning visit over to his neighbor’s house. The visit was part of their routine. They helped each other do their chores, then had a coffee and discussed the future of Kansas. Whether there was a Democrat west of Lawrence? Should Kansas annex the panhandle of Oklahoma before Texas does? Is there any point in moving the Three Points monument of Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska (a mailbox and four livestock panels) to its real location 42 feet to the Southeast?

CB and Dale, his neighbor, walked out to the corrals and during their chores they found a dead chicken in the henhouse. Dale was stove-up so CB crouched down and drug it out with a wire.

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“Feed it to the dogs,” said CB.

It was a picture that stopped you in your tracks; a magnificent sorrel stallion with nostrils flared, flames reflecting in his wild eyes, mane flying aloft and a ball offire roaring at the tip of his teeth! If ever there was a dragon horse snorting fire, this would be it.

“Should I pluck her first?” asked Dale.

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They discussed the benefits of feathered or featherless dog food. CB suggested featherless because he had once seen a Pekingese choke on a duck and nearly die. Neither was wanting to pluck her but were worried by the Pekingese duck tale. Dale said, “We’ll just singe them off.”

They tossed the sacrificial chicken into the stud corral and using a wad of paper feed sacks and kindling, set the carcass afire and went on with their chores. They were stopped by a ruckus of other chicken squawkin’ and tawkin’. They hurried back around the barn and saw the stud runnin’ through the flock, scatterin’ them sideways! But when he turned to look back he had a big ball of fire in his mouth!

CB and Dale ran toward the scene of the arson! The ball of fire fell out. They could see his whiskers were singed as well as his eyelashes! He snorted and a chicken foot dropped to the ground. Our two wise men looked at each other.

“Horses don’t eat meat,” said CB.

“Of course they don’t,” said the second wise man.

At this, the fire breathing dragon dropped his head and ate the foot. ❖