there it was

I'm up here in North Dakota. I've been hearing lots of stories and there's one that Papa used to tell that I want to pass on. I think it's better told in person, but this will do until I'm sitting around a campfire with you.

One day Papa and my uncle Greg were bank-fishing on the Missouri River and they met an old German-Russian farmer. He was fishing, too, and they sat down to visit awhile. The old farmer started telling them about a coyote he had seen near some sheep that he was looking after. He said something like this: "So, I saw this coyote and figured I better go after it. I tracked it through the trees, into a gully, and up a hill. I saw that coyote cross over the top of the hill and disappear down into the valley below. I followed, going through the gully and climbing up the hill. I got to the top and looked down into the valley for the coyote. And sure enough, there it was--gone."