Treed by Payson Sibley Wild
Bill tells of a Sunday by the creek, recalling forty-odd years back when wild hogs thrived in the Skillet bottoms and his Paw hunted them with dogs for Winter pork, sometimes fighting or fleeing a mean sow or tusked boar. Bill then recounts a hunter near the Fork who, finding no game, grew scared at dusk, ran till exhausted, and climbed a hickory by a slew. After resting an hour, he found himself stuck, straining against gravity, legs wound tight—only to realize he'd been sitting on the ground the whole time.
By Payson Sibley Wild · Genre: Humorous Fiction, Folk Ballad, Frontier/Pioneer Fiction · 592 words
First lines
'Twas a Sunday in March ez we set on a log / In a break in the woods, whar the crick makes a jog, / An' hez et int' the bank an' up under the mill, / Thet the story herewith was related by Bill.
"Years ago, forty odd, wild hogs was ez thick / In these 'ere Skillet bottoms ez ‘cats' in the crick. / They follered the mast (tho' I ain't meanin' shippin'), / An' 'long in the Fall got ez fat ez a pippin.
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Genres
- Humorous Fiction — The narrative builds tension around a hunter's fear and escape, culminating in an ironic punchline where he discovers he was on the ground the entire time, delivering pure comedic effect.
- Folk Ballad — Written as a vernacular narrative poem in traditional ballad form, presented as an oral folk tale being told by Bill with claims of its truth ('they's fokes 'at's still livin' 'at 'll tell ye they know').
- Frontier/Pioneer Fiction — Depicts frontier life in rural America ('Skillet bottoms'), hunting practices, dangerous wildlife encounters, and the challenges of frontier survival and subsistence hunting.
- Adventure — Features a protagonist facing dangerous wild hogs in the forest at night, fleeing in panic, and attempting to survive by climbing a tree, creating suspense and physical challenge.
Tags
hunting · wild hogs · tall tale · frontier · humor · dialect poetry · folk narrative · fear and panic · illusion versus reality · misperception · narrative poem · rural America
What this Textopian page supports
Treed is listed on Textopian as a short story by Payson Sibley Wild, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Payson Sibley Wild
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Humorous Fiction, Folk Ballad, Frontier/Pioneer Fiction, Adventure, Tall Tale
- Length: 592 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Treed by Payson Sibley Wild
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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