ARTICLE: ME, MILO AND THE FROG by Jerry Ison
  My favorite hunting and fishing companion was an ugly bandy-legged half beagle half basset named Earl. As a matter of fact, I probably spent more time with Earl than I did with any of my ex-wives. Hmm, looking back, maybe that's why they're now ex's! Wow, wonder why it never occurred to me before.
  Oh excuse me, back to my favorite companion, Earl. He would love to go out no matter the weather, no matter the game (except cats!) and no matter the time.
  Yep, maybe that explains a lot. Just try getting that woman out of bed at 4:00 A.M. in December when it's 10 below so the two of you can go sit in the slush waiting for daylight. Earl not only seemed to enjoy the whole thing, he was excited every time we got ready for the field. Or woods. Or river.
  Every time that is except when I wanted to go frog giggin'! It was a bit weird how he had such an aversion to frog giggin'.
  It would go something like this:
  "Hey Earl!'" Ears perk up.
  "Wanna go.." Earl jumps up.
  ..frog" Earl turns away.
  ..giggin'?" Earl runs under the bed.
  So for that endeavor I always called on my buddy Milo.
  Milo was about my age and never married. That meant he was almost always ready to head out at a moment's notice.
  Milo and I had access to several great frog ponds in the area and we liked to "rotate" em from year to year. That way, some of them ole bullies got to be pretty darn big.
  This night we decided to try the Engle pond since we hadn't been there in a couple, maybe three years. We knew this pond had a large bullfrog population and thus, a large water snake population. Some of those water snakes got to be really big, and especially big when you stumble on em in the dark. You ever notice that snakes always just suddenly appear? Yeah, they never work their way into view like a white tail or a gobbler. It seems like, Bam!, there they are and then just like that, they're gone! I'm not what you call afraid of snakes, it's just their sneaky, stealthy ways makes me startle. And jump back. And holler something like #@&*!! Or *&%##!!
  Milo, as usual, let me be the "point" man and we began our trek around the pond's edge. I hadn't gone more than ten or twelve yards when my light lit up two eyes so big I thought there were beer cans floating in the water. Whoa!
  "Milo! Milo!"
  "Whut?"
  "Look here! There sits the biggest frog you ever saw in your life!"
  "Ah, I doubt it. I seen some purty big frogs in my day. Gigged em too!"
  "I'll bet you fifty cents this one's bigger!"
  "Deal!"
  Milo inched his way up beside me and gasped. I knew I had won that fifty cents!
  Milo, to my amazement, even conceded the money.
  But just as we were moving towards the giant frog, gigs at the ready, an equally large water snake poked his head up just behind the frog.
  Before me, Milo or the frog could move a muscle the snake grabbed the big frog by one of his hind legs and they began a huge tussle.
  The frog immediately flexed those enormous legs muscles and propelled himself and that big old snake all the way up onto the bank where the thrashing got even wilder.
  I turned to Milo and said, "I think that snake has bitten off more'n he can swallow. That frog is gonna eat that snake!"
  You're nuts! Frogs don't eat snakes, snakes eat frogs."
  "Betcha 'nother fifty cents!"
  "You're on!"
  Just then a strange twist of fate happened. In all the kickin' and thrashin' and rollin' the snake's tail whipped right up in front of the frog's mouth. Quick as lightening, the frog grabbed the snake's tail and began swallowing. Meanwhile, at the other end, the snake was swallowing the frog. The snake had a head start on the frog and was a bit longer, so it looked like Milo was right about the snake eating the frog. But, suddenly, with a lot of loud slurpin' and gulpin', that big old frog started making up for lost time.
  Now it was hard to tell which one was gonna win this eating contest.
  I yelled to Milo, "I got a whole dollar that says the frog eats the snake!"
  "I'll take that bet!"
  It was pretty much back and forth. The snake would swallow another couple of inches of frog, then frog would gulp down more snake. It got so exciting that we doubled the bets. Then tripled the bet when they we right down to just an inch or so of each showing.
  Now just the frog's lips and a half inch of snake tail.
  Suddenly they both took a final big bite - at exactly the same time- and poof! They were gone! Swallowed each other completely, never to be seen again.
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