While this war doin’ I sat on that mule, Till Dick Mullens upset a hive, And a swarm of mad bees came tearin’ out, And, soarin’ around, made a dive Right squar for my mule; they lit on his flanks, And his neck, his ears and back:— He rear’d and snorted, threw his head in air, Then quickly tuk a le’ard tack!
And erway on a fearful race he broke Over fences, lorgs, ditches and rocks, Headin’ for the water under the hill— He near shook me out of my socks! On his break-neck race for that brook berlow It war needless ter pull on the rein, For that ugly mule war dead set upon Gittin’ rid of his bitin’ pain!
With me the siteration war quite bad— That mule’s hide war thicker than mine; And when they lit on me I fit a while: Then foller’d the mule’s bee line! We reach’d the creek—ye may not berlieve it— But that mule went down on his knees In that ere stream, and roll’d over on me, Jist ter rid himself of the bees!
The muddy water war full four feet deep, And I came quite n’ar bein’ drown’d, As with the old mule I battl’d thar, With the bees what war buzzin’ ’round! I shall never forget that frisky brute, What flounder’d erbout and shook Them ere buzzin’ insects from orf his ears, And danced like mad in the brook,—
One minute he lay flat upon his back— The next balanced, on his fores, With his tail stuck out, and kickin’ like mad, As the bees fell on him by scores! Wal, while this battle war ergoin’ on ’Twixt the bees and the valiant mule, I had a chance ter crawl up ter the bank— Don’t say that my action war cru’l—
For the critter war much better prepar’d With his tail ter banish his foes, While I had not a durn’d thing erbout me Ter aid him the battle ter close. I had had quite ernough of that skirmish, And erway up the hill I run As quickly as my shanks would carry me, In sarch of my knapsack and gun.
When I had found them I war satersfied, And did not rernew the ertack On them wild bees; but, boys, I’m not carten But that mule still lies on his back Erway down thar in Berks county, fightin’ The dercendents of them mad bees What that day swarm’d out of that broken hive! That’s the yarn!—Who’s treat is it, please?
