Again I nodded my head and moved a little closer to him.
'How is that going to catch a coon, Grandpa?' I asked.
'It'll catch him all right,' he said, 'and it won't fail. You see a coon is a curious little animal. Anything that is bright and shiny attracts him. He will reach in and pick it up. When his paw closes on the bright object it balls up, and when he starts to pull it from the hole, the sharp ends of the nails will gouge into his paw and he*s caught.'
He looked over at me.
'Well, what do you think of it?' he asked.
I closed my eyes and in my mind I could see the funnel-like entrance of the hole, and the sharp slanting points of the nails. I could see the coon reaching in for the shiny piece of metal. Naturally his paw would be much larger when closed than it was when he reached in. It would be impossible for it to pass the sharp nails.
It was all looking pretty good to me and I was on the point of saying so, when it hit me. Why, all the coon had to do was open his paw, drop the object, and he was free. It all blew up then and there. I just knew my grandfather was playing a joke on me.
I stepped back and almost cried as I said, 'Grandpa, you're kidding me. That kind of a trap couldn't catch a coon. Why all he'd have to do is open his paw, drop the piece of tin, and he could pull it from the hole.'
Grandpa started roaring with laughter. This did make me feel bad. With tears in my eyes, I started for the door.
'Wait a minute,' Grandpa said. 'I'm not kidding you. Oh, I know I like to have my jokes, same as any man, but I meant every word I said.'
I turned around and looked at him. He had stopped laughing and there was a hurt expression on his face.
'I wasn't laughing at you,' he said. 'I was laughing more at myself than you. I just wanted to see if you were smart enough to see that there was a way the coon could free himself.'
'A fellow wouldn't have to be very smart to see that,' I said.
Grandpa started talking seriously again. 'You know,' he said, 'a coon has more than one peculiarity about him. When I was a boy I had a pet coon. By watching him, I saw and learned a lot of things.
'He had a den in an old hollow tree in our front yard. I don't know the number of times I'd have to climb that tree and get my mother's scissors, buttons, needles, and thimble from his den. Why, he'd even carry out our knives, forks, and spoons. Anything that was bright and shiny, he took to his den.'
Grandpa stopped talking for a few minutes. I could see a faraway look in his eyes. Once again he was living in those long-ago days. I waited in silence for him to go on with his story.
'One of the most peculiar things about that coon,' he said, 'was his front feet. Once he wrapped those little paws around something he would never let go.
'My mother had an old churn. It was one of those kind with a small hole in the lid for the dasher. When she would get through churning, she would take the dasher out to wash it. That crazy coon would climb up on top of the churn, poke his little front paw through the hole, and get a fistful of butter. The hole was small, and when he closed his paw, he couldn't get it back out. All he had to do was open it, drop the butter, and he would be free, but do you think he would? No, sir. He would carry that churn lid all over the house, squalling and growling. Why, it took everyone in the house to free him. I'd have to wrap him up in a gunny sack or an old coat and pry his claws loose from the butter. Seeing this time after time is what gave me the idea for this trap. Once he reaches in and gets hold of that tin, he's caught, because he will never open his paw.'
With my confidence restored, it all sounded pretty good to me and I was anxious to try out this wonderful plan. I thanked him and, taking the brace and nails, I left the store.
By the time I reached home it was too late in the day to start making my traps. That night I talked the idea over with Papa.
'I've heard of coons being caught that way,' he said, 'but I never paid much attention to it. Your grandfather should know, though, for he was quite a coon hunter when he was a boy.'
'From what he told me,' I said, 'it never fails.'
Papa asked if I wanted him to help make my traps.
'No,' I said, 'I think I can do it myself.'
