Lord of the Little Greenbriar

By Bryan Huling

The Appalachian Tales Series

 

Book 1

The Lord of the Little Greenbriar

B.W is short for Big Whiskers.  A fat and friendly raccoon, he is the leader of the wild critters in his hollow. They live mostly happy and content on the Little Greenbriar River way, way up in the Smoky Mountains.

 

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryan Huling
• Release date: Apr 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088120408

Book preview

Title Lord of the Little Greenbriar

An Appalachian Tale

By

Bryan Huling

Copyright © 2023 by Bryan Huling

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests,

Contact Bryan Huling at [e-mail]

Visit Bryan Huling’s website at bryanhuling.biz for more information about the author and his works.

Contents

The Lord of the Little Greenbriar

Chapter 01

Chapter 02

Chapter 03

Chapter 04

Chapter 05

Chapter 06

Chapter 07

Chapter 08

Chapter 09

Chapter 10

The Lord of the Little Greenbriar

Two big brown eyes in a perfect black mask

Rings ‘round his tail and his belly’s quite fat

Long shiny whiskers and a pointy black nose

Everyone knows him wherever he goes

Down by the river perched on a log

Up to his elbows washing his paws

Momma’s got supper, he just heard her call

It’s crickets ands cornbread his favorite of all

He’s the Lord of theLittle Greenbriar

King of this mountain, the rivers and hollers

A prince among thieves, he’s a lover and a fighter

The Lord of the Little Greenbriar

Out after supper teasing the hounds

Up in the trees he just can’t be found

Listen to them howl, lordy, let them dogs yap

He can’t help but smile, he can’t help but laugh

Then he’ll dance in the moonlight with his favorite girl

Light on his feet as he gives her a whirl

He can’t catch his breath when he looks in her eyes

And his heart gets as big as the moon in the sky

He’s the Lord of the Little Greenbriar

King of this mountain, the rivers and hollers

A prince among thieves, he’s a lover and a fighter

The Lord of the Little Greenbriar

Chapter 1

B.W. just loved to ponder. Especially when he was resting all sprawled out in the sunshine on his very favorite rock in the whole wide world. He was looking out over the folds, wrinkles and hollows of his mountain from a perch way, way up high on a craggy limestone outcropping. Watching the clouds blow by down below as the day turned clear and bright on the valley down below felt fine and dandy, fine and dandy indeed.

Once the clouds were good and gone B.W. spied Cooper flying down below. The mamma chickenhawk was chasing woodpeckers through the speckled canopy of colorful leaves. Elk were roaming a bald knob nearby eating up the last of the year’s green grass just as fast as they could nibble the precious sweet treat. Trout were jumping in the river all splishy splashy as they feasted on the last of the season’s water bugs and flies. A chubby little black bear cub chased them up and down the bank catching nary a single one.

Golly! These hills and hollows sure areancient. They get much prettier and I might get spoiled rotten. Might get me a big head or something. B.W. stretched out all long and skinny for such a fat and sassy raccoon. The warm sunshine on a chilly fall day made his bones feel good. They creaked and crackled while he finished maybe the finest stretching he ever did do.

He smiled softly as a noisy wind came gushing up the mountainside. It rustled through the pine, fir, hickory and maple trees. The tightly packed rhododendron crowded along the creek banks shimmied and shook as the wind danced through its densely packed waxy leaves. A very last wisp of the wild wind ruffled the fur on his big belly and tickled his long shiny whiskers.

The Smoky Mountains were breathtakingly beautiful this time of year. A good long cool snap had turned the leaves into an explosion of glorious color. Golds, reds, bright yellows and a million other colors blazed in the bright midday sun on his side of the valley.

The far side of the valley was already dusky and mysterious as the sun started to slowly slip behind its hazy ridges. It would be deeply dark in those woods long before night settled over B.W.’s dominion.

The smell of wood smoke rising with the wind tickled his pointy black nose. He let out a great and mighty ‘AHCHOO’ that echoed back four times from the hills around him before quietly disappearing into the distance.

Excuuuse me! he shyly said to the robins and mocking birds he had startled out of nearby trees. He nodded apologetically to a family of rabbits with twelve new bouncing brown bunnies he had scared out from beneath a big Catawba rhododendron. The babies scattered pell mell throughout the old leaves and purple flowers scattered on the ground. Mama rabbit let out a long tired sigh as she gave B.W. a serious and scornful stare.

B.W. meekly scratched his itchy nose. His big brown eyes followed the wispy fingers of wood smoke down to a brand spanking new river rock chimney rising above a brand spanking new cabin down by the river. His river! The Little Greenbriar River marked the edge of his domain. Best see what’s going on with these new two-leggers down there. They’ve been making all kinds of noise day in and day out. Now they’re burning up our trees. No good can come out of this. Nary a bit!

B.W. took the time to straighten up his furry cheeks and fluff the big ringed tail he was so proud of before he waddled back into the dark shade of the trees and ferns.

This was B.W.’s absolutely for sure favorite time of the year. The heat and mugginess of the East Tennessee summer were long gone, replaced by the sweet dry coolness of fall.  The fields down in the coves had been harvested by the farm families. There was lots of corn, beans, tomatoes, squash and pumpkins left on the drying husks and vines. You just had to get in there and root around good to find them.

The farmers always left a little extra in the fields for the