The Wily Goat

The purple on his chin was telling,
there was no use to lie.
That pesky, good for nothing goat
had eaten Mother's pie.

She'd set it in the back porch just
to cool it down a bit
and don't you know that goat had come
and calmly eaten it.

My little brother looked as if
he was inclined to cry.
They'd warned him things would have to change
or Billy Goat would die.

I got a rag to help him scrub
that bright dye off his whisker.
He could appeal to Ma's good side
but didn't want to risk her.

That goat had climbed on everything
from our new car to house.
He'd eaten nightshirts off the line.
No wonder Mom would grouse.

Now little brother came along
when we were all half-grown.
He never seemed to learn the ways
the rest of us had known.

He didn't learn to get around
our mama's laws and such.
He had no wiles to protect him.
His goat was sure in dutch.

He'd never learned to ride a horse,
'cause he was somewhat ailing.
His best friend was this ornery goat
and that was fast a failing.

He guessed the only answer was
to take his goat and run.
He didn't think to take a coat,
a knapsack or a gun.

The rest of us when we ran off
with rifle on our arm
could shoot some game to feed ourselves
and maybe keep us warm.

We all were scared when brother
didn't turn up for the meal;
and we could see the worry our
mama began to feel.

So Daddy got his good horse Dan
and took the dogs along
and said he'd just go scout him out;
be sure nothing was wrong.

It seemed a good long time before
we saw him riding back
with something on the saddle.
It looked much like a sack.

But it was our little brother
and he was sound asleep.
Dad found him in the orchard
with apples in a heap.

That cunning goat had climbed up
in the ole apple tree
and flung down the ripe apples,
as nimble as could be.

So brother wasn't hungry
but he was mighty weary.
Our mother grabbed him in her arms
and all of us were teary.

That clever goat had all the wiles
to prove himself a winner.
He saved our brother and himself
from becoming our goat dinner.

By: Joyce 11/21/04