Painting of Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue by Diana Magnuson
source

Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue

Well, as you boys know this is the last night of the camping trip.  I've saved a pretty special story for y'all.  It's a little romantic, but I suppose that's alright every once in a while.  It all started during the time I was palling around with Pecos Bill.  Bill and I were good friends, as you boys already know.  Bill and I were having some fun at the Perpetual Motion Ranch with a whole slew of other cowboys.  We was all laughin' and carrying on down in the river when I saw the most beautiful creature in the world.  I think old Pecos Bill saw too, because I looked over and his eyes were lit up just like mine.  This delicate flower was a young woman.  She had hair gold as the sun and a smile as big as the great state of Texas.  I could feel my heart pounding as I looked over at my friend once more.  Something had come over him.  Yup, Pecos Bill was in love.  I knew that he was meant to be with that woman, so like a gentleman, I stepped aside.  As that little lady was passing by on the biggest catfish I ever did see, Bill hollered out a proposal.  It was a marriage proposal.  Well, me and the other cowpokes could not believe our ears, but it was true.  Pecos Bill had just asked a woman to marry him.

Needless to say, the young woman said yes.  She had a few conditions though.  Bill had to buy her a dress with a bustle and he had to let her ride his faithful horse Lightening to the ceremony.  Well, Bill knew he could accommodate this.  Bill went all the way to Dallas to buy his lady Miss Slue-Foot Sue the fanciest dress they had.  It was mighty pretty on her if I do say so myself.  The second request was going to be pretty difficult to deliver.  Slue-Foot Sue was the best woman rider anyone had ever seen.  But she was no match for Lightening.  That horse bucked her off faster than you can say whoa.  She flew straight up into the sky, soaring until she nearly bumped her head on the moon.  She came down fast to earth, but her bustle made her shoot back into outer space.  This continued for quite a while and probably would have for the rest of her life if a tornado hadn't come along.  Bill lassoed it and brought his bride back to the earth.  They didn't just come straight down either.  That Texas sized storm carried Bill and Sue all the way to California.  And you know what?  They two of them landed on the top of a wagon.  It belonged to Pecos Bill's mother and father.  Everyone was so happy to be reunited and to have a new member of the family, Slue-Foot Sue.  I know this story may have been a little sappy for you boys, but it has a happy ending.  A good ending to our last story makes for a nice ending to one of the best camping trips I've had the privilege of going on.

Intro
Frametale
Me and Pecos Bill
Me and that Steel Driving Man
The North Woods
Me and Gib Morgan
My Pal Johnny Appleseed
e-mail me!
Jennifer Kirkwood

Bibliography:

Kellogg, Steven
1986 Pecos Bill.  New York: William Morrow and Company.
I used one of the stories in this book for this story.  I changed it by telling the story from a first person point of view.  I also changed language that was used to tell the story.  I tried for a little change in dialect to make it more Texan.  The person that is telling the story, Slim was a friend of Pecos Bill.  He falls in love with Slue-Foot Sue when Pecos Bill does.  This did not happen in the original story.

Image:
Diana Magnusson.com.  Painting of Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue on a catfish.  Websource:  http://www.dianamagnuson.com/pecosbill.html
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