Post by wildfire on Jan 12, 2005 1:17:21 GMT -5
Just a dusty old saddle with rolled under skirts
Its fenders were curled up and cracked
It hardly resembled how it looked in its prime
When it sat on a good horse's back.
The care it once got had been traded
For heedless neglect and abuse
A cast off, discarded old relic
For which no one had any more use.
A pair of rusty old spurs were a-danglin'
From the horn which was rope burned and scarred
'Cause its owner had taken his dallies
'Steada tyin' his line fast an' hard.
The off-side stirrup was missin',
The latigo age-cracked and worn
And the FOR SALE sign taped to the cantle
Somehow made it look more forlorn.
For more than a year it had been on display
And only a few had inquired
'Bout its price, its condition, or hist'ry
What events in its life had transpired.
Then one day a young man came into the shop
And asked if the owner was there.
The shopkeeper said, "Yessir, that would be me,"
As he slowly got up from his chair.
"How much for this saddle? This old one right here,"
Asked the lad in a soft-spoken tone.
"That's an antique for sure," the shop owner said,
"But one that you'd be proud to own."
"I'll take one hundred dollars, no less and no more.
An' throw that old pair of spurs in the deal
I should be askin' more but I'll let it go cheap;
At that price it's really a steal."
From his pocket the young man pulled out what appeared
To be just about a month's pay.
He laid out the cash in the shopkeeper's hand
And seemed ready to be on his way.
But the way that he picked up the saddle,
In a manner part reverence, part awe
Caused everyone watchin' to wonder
If there wasn't more here than they saw.
Still, the onlookers snickered and one laughed out loud
While the shopkeeper tried not to smirk
Many times he had offered to sell it for ten
And folks told him he'd gone plumb berserk.
So the shopowner ventured a question,
"What's so special about that old kak?
You handle it like it was made outta gold,
Maybe I should be buyin' it back."
The young man said, "Well sir, I'll tell you
Somethin' I reckon nobody knowed.
To me, it's dirt cheap at five times the money- - - - - -
That's the saddle my granddaddy rode."
