I spent quite a bit of time with my grandparents when i was oh say between the ages of 3 and 6.By the time i started school they had installed in me an imagination that was as big as our familys birth state of Kentucky!  My grandma and grandpa,which was mamow & papow to me had already raised 16 children,so im guessing they were pretty good teachers by this point.At this time papow had finally left the coalmines and ventured into cattle farming.So my visits were always exciteing.Many times after all the cooking and the cleaning and the general duties of running a farm were over papow would get out his banjo and sing a play.I would sit in the floor legs crossed watching and listening hanging on to every sound and word,usually for some reason their wasnt anyone in or around the house but us three.Mamow would still be busy working around thur the house,so that left me papows only fan…. I SUPPOSE IT WAS that after seeing what an interest i took in his singing and playing that he decided to share some of his ” True Stories ” with me. Of course he told me right off that they were ALL ALWAYS TRUE! And of course i belive to this day.       ” The Fiddler” In papows words: Now there was this young boy that lived up in the mountains with his parents,the youngest and only one left still liveing at home of a large family.The boy had grew lonesome now that his other brothers and sisters were all gone so his parents came up with him a fiddle.The boy carried that old fiddle around just about all day long and half the night screaching and a squalking untill it finally started sounding pretty darn good.So on he kept untill that old fiddle was speaking the most beautiful sounds that those mountains had ever heard.His parents were bursting with pride to have a son so determined to play and was now playing to them everyday ,he would dance around and grin a big grin as he played.The boy took up playing in church and it was there that he learned to play some of his most beautiful music ever.The church folk all swore he was the best fiddler they had ever heard.Soon the word spread all over the mountain that the boy was the best fiddler ever!…Even tho this was a big compliment to the boy makeing him popular with everyone,he still remained the same sweet,kindhearted and poor mountain boy that he always was nothing else really had changed untill one day…The boy had went down to the little town to get a few things they needed at home when a stranger approached him,he was wearing full black and walked with a slightly fancy cane and shoes like the boy had never seen.The shoes were black as well but with square ends on them,squared off straight at the ends just past were the middle part of ones foot is.It didnt seem to effect his walkin any so why the cain the boy thought as the tall dark haired man came closer.The stranger introduced himself,noone remembering the name he gave.He told the boy he had heard of his talents and offered him a job,a well paying job he promised.All the boy had to do was show up and play for a party that he was giveing for some of his friends.The party would be in and old big barn that sat outside of town and a far piece off from were anyone else lived,noone had lived at the old houseplace where the barn was in years.Of course the boy accepted,he was thrilled in his heart to be able to do what he loved most in the world and get paid WELL for it! The strange man told the boy to be there at dark and he would see him there.All the way home the boy thought of what all he could use the money for,of course first he would buy his parents something nice,and then maybe some new clothes for himself since maybe he thought this could be something i do often as i can to make some much needed money.He raced home and told his folks about the ”great news” as soon as he bolted thur the door.”Can you belive it,Im going to get paid and well just for playing my fiddle?” Altho his parents were happy for him they both wondered who this stranger might be and what was he doing in ther tiny little poor mountain town.The boys mother made ready the best of clothes that the boy had and come Saturday night his parents bid him farewell and with a prayer for his safety and a little food from supper wrapped up in a piece of cloth,the boy and his fiddle headed off.He had walked to the old barn once before with his father a few years back so after getting advice about just how long it would take him from his fatherand with the stopping about half way beside a creek to eat and rest a spell  he was in fact Right On Time.Just as the boy saw the clearing of the big field that sat close to the barn he could see lamp light coming thur the cracks and he could here much laughfter.”where are the peoples wagons and horses ” he thought and then another thought ”Sounds like alot of folks in there,how did they get here?” now this boy had never been sceared,or nervous to ever play in front of anyone his whole life so this feeling he was starting to feel was a bran new feeling to him and he didnt much like it! But no kinda feeling could have ever prepaired him for what he was about to witness.When he first stepped into the old barn all he could was people,many people THAT BARN WAS FILLED WITH PEOPLE!  People that he had never seen or met in his life,he was still thinking about how they got there and at the same time wondering who they were,they had on fine clothes the finest only in books had he saw clothes such as theirs.The women all had on soft and shiney looking dresses with alot of lace and beautiful buttons,lots of facepaint and fanceyed up hair.The men folk all looked like some kinda royality with there fancy suits and slick back and down hair.They were all still laughing and talking and didnt even seem to notice him at all and then someone from behind gentley gaver him a tug on his old coat sleeve.It was the stranger…Alto he did have a rather stern and dark disposition about his face it was still good at this point to see a fimiliar face.”Glad you could join us ,weve been waiting and please with a motion of his arm directing the boy toward the far end of the barn where a stack of hay bails were stacked up as if it were a stage of sort.So the boy took his fiddle from the case and withput further ado began to play..the first choices were all lively quick tempo songs just made for kicking up your heels and holding up the sides of a fancy dress and danceing to.The strange people seem to love it,they were all drinking danceing and haveing what seemed to be a great time.The boy would often look toward the same direction and see the man who hired him always smiling and sometimes lower his head to show a sign of enjoying his works.The lad played many songs untill he decided to slow things down a bit with a slow number that had just a hint that it was in fact one of the songs he had learned at church.As soon as he began to play within a few seconds EVERYONE STOPED DANCEING AND SRARTED GLARING MEAN FACED at the boy.”What ,What did i do wrong stopping his playing also?Then he thought to look in the direction of the man who hired him and the face he looked almost caused the young lad to fall right off those bails of hay.It was the most frightful face he had ever seen,it WAS the man who hired hims face but yet it looked Changed almost! STILL NOT REALIZEING exactly what he had done so wrong to cause all of that kind of behavior,he gathered himself and began to play another upbeat and lively tune.This was working the people began to go back to there danceing.It dawned then on the boy that they didnt like slow tunes at all and that he was going to have to play wide open the rest of the night.This job he thought is turning out to be well worth the money.ALL the while he was playing he was thinking about how he couldnt wait to get out of there something wasnt right with these people.On into the nightr he played only stopping for quick breaks to step outside and rest his arms a bit while haveing only water to drink,once the stranger offered  to him some whiskey,the boy politely declined saying his mother never would let him play again if he came home with whiskey on his breath.Finally this Strange Night was over!The Stranger in Black with the Funny looking Shoes paid the fiddler with a little sack of GOLD! Gold! the boy couldnt belive his eyes as the Stranger pulled a black velvet pouch out of his vest and placed several golden coins inside the boys heart came back to life.Clink,clink went the golden coins as they fell into the bottom of the little pouch.Only one reply from the stranger as the fiddler turned to leave “YOU PLAYED WELL BOY,WITH ONLY ONE MISTAKE” the boy realized that one gosple slow song WAS the mistake seeing as how everything else turned out.It was pitch dark walking the old road home,but blessed be the Lord there was a full moon which sure did help to get thur the woods part alot quicker.The boy stopped and rested at the creek again and leaned up against a tree,took his money pouch out and shook it for a bit just to her that wonderful sound.My first paid money he thought,im going to wait and let my folks help me count it. His arms were very tired and the next thing he knew it was breaking daylight.He jumped up grabbed his fiddlecase and took off almost running.When he got home his folks were just setting the table for breakfast.Bolting through the door he called ” Im home Im home,what a night” as theysat down for breakfast the lad told them all about his strange night ,and the strange looking and acting people,and how he couldnt understand were they all came from and how they got there,or how they all even got home.He was so glad to be home and with the telling of the story forgot about the black pouch of gold coins.”Well how much did the man pay you?asked the boys father” OH JUST WAIT UNTILL YOU SEE THIS the boy was saying as he opened up the pouch.WHAT! WHAT IS THIS? the young fiddler looked in shock as he jumped up shakeing his head.No,No,he said this aint right this pouch had gold coins in it real gold coins,i watched the man as he dropped them inside.But so sadly instead of gold coins inside were only hard pieces of dried up cow manure! Cow Manure! how could this be?The boys parents told him sadly and not really wanting to tell their son such that surely the stranger must have been saten himself ,being that everything was as it was and seemed as it seemed.They told him saten was known to pull tricks such as that especially to good God fearing people.This in some ways broke the boys heart,but his mother soon had his thinking turned back around and the young fiddler never played for strangers again and was thankful that worse didnt happen to him than just being tricked by the old cloven foot devil and his company of evil demon spirits…

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