Pieces He Ate

The old salt sat on the capstan looking out to sea. As he stroked his beard two boys watched. "I dare you," Jack said. Casper edged toward the old man.

"Hey Mister, what happened to your leg?" He almost lost his nerve and ran off without waiting for an answer.

"Don' be scared lad, I won't hurt ye." He gave a toothless grin. "Now, me leg. I was rollin' on the deck of me ship when I heard a whistlin'. I knew it were the cable abreakin' but I weren't quick enough. It cut me through to the bone. The carpenter took what was left and give me a wooden peg he done carved."

"So why have you got a metal leg now?" Jack asked, joining the conversation.

"Now that is a tale. Not salty sea shanty, nor pirates of old: a tale of a bird." Both looked at him strangely. "Ye knows I lost me leg at sea, boys. Well, that's a part of it.
Twas on land I lost me wooden leg." They were struggling to understand where this was going. He took a swig of ale and continued. "I did remove the wooden leg as I lay abed. One morning I heard a tap tap. I reached for me leg and there was a fluttering. I saw a small hole in me leg and a green feather. Aye, boys, twas a woodpecker. The darned thing came back each day at dawn and pecked away until me leg was no more than dust."

They looked then to his shoulder. Where you might expect an old sea dog like Jake to have a parrot, there sat a stuffed green woodpecker

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