An old man lived with his hound-dog, Mace, in a run-down shack on the outskirts of town. He had no family and only a few meager possessions, including a bag of hand tools, and his dog. He used the tools to do odd jobs in town, for which he usually would be paid enough to get food for a few days.
Mace and his master lived from one day to the next on what little these jobs would bring in. The dog was just a normal hound, with one exception: while most dogs like to chew on grass occasionally, Mace loved it. When the old man was in town, Mace would spend the day in the yard in front of the house, chewing away on the grass.
One bright, sunny day the old man said goodbye to his dog and headed into town to work. He had a plumbing repair job in one of the homes there that would take him most of the day and would probably pay enough for food for the remainder of the week. He headed for town with a spring in his step and a whistle on his lips.
Inside the house and ready to start, the old man reached in the bag for his spanner wrench. To his surprise, he didn't feel it. He dug around again, but there didn't seem to be any wrench. He looked in the bag, then dumped its contents on the floor, but still no wrench.
Reality set in. Without a wrench he couldn't finish the job, and without the pay he couldn't even buy food for that night's supper, let alone for tomorrow. When he finally came to grips with reality, he told the lady who hired him what the situation was. While she sympathized with his situation, the job needed to be done. If the old man couldn't do it, she would have to hire someone else.
The old man packed up his tools and headed home, head bowed and shoulders stooped. The whistle was gone and no longer was there a spring in his step. Finally the old shack came into view, and there was Mace in the distance, munching away as usual on the front lawn. When the dog saw his master, he came running, tail wagging, telling the old man how glad he was to see him.
Kneeling beside the hound, the man began to pet him, and through tear-filled eyes told the dog that there would be no supper tonight and no food for tomorrow. What's more, without money to buy a new wrench, he had no idea what the future held. It was the loneliest, most helpless feeling he ever had!
But then he caught a glimpse of something shining in the grass. As the old man went over to see what this piece of shining material was, his despair turned to joy! It was the wrench! The old man had dropped it on his way out that morning, and it would have been lost forever had Mace not been eating farther away from the house than he usually did! The old man grabbed the dog, gave him a hug that almost suffocated him, and ran into the house.
He spied a stub of pencil and quickly sat down and wrote a moving tribute to his canine companion. Few people have ever read these words, although they later were changed slightly and set to a melody. A melody that went on to some acclaim (although the old man got none of the credit).
A grazing Mace,
How sweet the hound,
That saved a wrench for me....
Mace and his master lived from one day to the next on what little these jobs would bring in. The dog was just a normal hound, with one exception: while most dogs like to chew on grass occasionally, Mace loved it. When the old man was in town, Mace would spend the day in the yard in front of the house, chewing away on the grass.
One bright, sunny day the old man said goodbye to his dog and headed into town to work. He had a plumbing repair job in one of the homes there that would take him most of the day and would probably pay enough for food for the remainder of the week. He headed for town with a spring in his step and a whistle on his lips.
Inside the house and ready to start, the old man reached in the bag for his spanner wrench. To his surprise, he didn't feel it. He dug around again, but there didn't seem to be any wrench. He looked in the bag, then dumped its contents on the floor, but still no wrench.
Reality set in. Without a wrench he couldn't finish the job, and without the pay he couldn't even buy food for that night's supper, let alone for tomorrow. When he finally came to grips with reality, he told the lady who hired him what the situation was. While she sympathized with his situation, the job needed to be done. If the old man couldn't do it, she would have to hire someone else.
The old man packed up his tools and headed home, head bowed and shoulders stooped. The whistle was gone and no longer was there a spring in his step. Finally the old shack came into view, and there was Mace in the distance, munching away as usual on the front lawn. When the dog saw his master, he came running, tail wagging, telling the old man how glad he was to see him.
Kneeling beside the hound, the man began to pet him, and through tear-filled eyes told the dog that there would be no supper tonight and no food for tomorrow. What's more, without money to buy a new wrench, he had no idea what the future held. It was the loneliest, most helpless feeling he ever had!
But then he caught a glimpse of something shining in the grass. As the old man went over to see what this piece of shining material was, his despair turned to joy! It was the wrench! The old man had dropped it on his way out that morning, and it would have been lost forever had Mace not been eating farther away from the house than he usually did! The old man grabbed the dog, gave him a hug that almost suffocated him, and ran into the house.
He spied a stub of pencil and quickly sat down and wrote a moving tribute to his canine companion. Few people have ever read these words, although they later were changed slightly and set to a melody. A melody that went on to some acclaim (although the old man got none of the credit).
A grazing Mace,
How sweet the hound,
That saved a wrench for me....
