1 Coon Trap + 2 Boys + 3 Legs = 7 Kittens

This is a story about a mathematical equation. It goes like this: 1 Coon Trap + 2 Boys + 3 Legs = 7 Kittens.

Here goes…

About 2 years ago, we were at mom and dads for some random family get together. My parents have 15 (or maybe 16??) grand children. Ranging in age from – the newest – 2 months old – to the oldest – 13 years. So you can imagine the kind of chaos that goes on with that many kids. Not to mention we are just a LOUD family. Often times, the older boys will go play in the barn or woods. Xander and Noah are usually together doing “boy things”
This particular day, (unbeknownst to the rest of the house), Xander and Noah were playing in the barn. They climbed up into the rafters (ahh!) and got down dad’s coon trap. You know, like the ones you see in cartoons, with the jaggedy teeth and the metal release plate in the middle. They took this old rusty trap and set it up in the barn. Now, I didn’t see the trap actually set up, but dad says “It had to take them both it’s so hard to set”
Anyway, they set the trap in the barn. AND LEFT IT THERE!!
The next day dad hears an awful rucus coming from the barn. The trap worked. It caught an old wild barn cat. Well, it caught one foot of the cat. Dad had to throw an old blanket over her to get the trap off cause she was thrashing at him so much. As soon as she could get free, she took off and we didn’t see anything of her for several days. We thought maybe the stress had been too much and she had died. But several days later, she came around. Limping on three legs. The boys felt just awful, they tried to catch her to help, but she would have NOTHING to do with people now. Her leg eventually healed up. Mom took to calling her Peg. Which I thought was just plain funny. Peg, the three legged cat!
Yesterday – we were sitting on the back porch at mom’s house with all of us there again. And Peg sticks her head out of the old smoke house. I say “Hey mom!, how’s Peg doin’? ” And about that time, two little fat kittens com rolling out of the house behind Peg. They are the cutest little things. “Yeah” says dad, “And there are 5 more of them in the smoke house”
“Wow” I said – “That is some farmer math, dad, “1 Coon Trap + 2 Boys + 3 Legs = 7 Kittens!”

And we all had a good laugh!