One Mean Mule

William Faulkner observed, “A mule will labor willingly and patiently for you for ten years for the privilege of kicking you once.” The great writer theorized that vindictiveness is as common among these unmannered ungulates as their derisive bray. One fine spring day on my father’s Mississippi Delta Farm, my pal Earl and I learned all about the vindictiveness of mules. “Y’all don’t fool with Jezebel while I’m gone,” Jaybird, my boyhood best friend and mentor said. He had dealt with mules all his life, and knew that, far from being dumb as most folks thought, mules are as smart as they are mean and malicious.