Snapping turtles

Our local paper ran a little article this week about a man with the amazing ability to hypnotize snapping turtles.

He would lay the turtle on its back and slowly rub its tummy and after a while lick the turtle's eyelids over and over. The turtle would be mesmerized and fall into a deep trance. This had worked many times for him much to the delight of his friends who were always asking him to perform this trick at cook-outs and parties .

Predictably then, he got hold of the one snapping turtle who had not read the accounts of the man's talent or did not appreciate it or at least did not succumb. When that tongue headed toward his eyelids the turtle snapped out, took hold and hung on clamping down in a vice. The assembled crowd was both disgusted and enthralled. The man's brother pried the little jaws apart with a stick and then, blood spewing and gushing everywhere, drove his brother to the hospital. They were able to stitch up what was left of his tongue.

The turtle crawled away with a nice little snack.

The man talked funny for ever after.