Billy Bob invited Nellie Sue to a picnic. One summer afternoon Billy Bob had a brand-new cowboy outfit, complete with shiny silver buttons and spurs. He was set on impressing Nellie Sue. He packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrot and apple slices, and a couple of water bottles in a wicker basket covered with a blue checkered cloth. Nellie Sue, dressed in a huge billowy skirt with fluffy white petticoats, added a surprise for Billy Bob—some brownies tucked carefully beneath the cloth.

They mounted Billy Bob’s big brown horse, Jester, and headed out to a nearby field. In the middle of the field was a hill with a large pecan tree. Billy Bob led Jester carefully up the steep hill to the very top. No sooner had they dismounted and set the picnic basket on the ground than Jester bolted, galloping down the hill. “Darn that horse,” said Billy Bob, “I better go get him!”

Nellie Sue watched as Billy Bob ran down the hill, chasing Jester all around the field until, finally, the horse trotted back up the hill to avoid him. Hot, sweaty, and a little bit mad, Billy Bob started back up the hill. Halfway up, his new spurs caught in the grass, and down he went—boots in the air and his 10-gallon hat flying.

Nellie Sue gasped, “Oh!” and hurried down to help him, but she tripped on her voluminous skirt and tumbled down the hill herself. She rolled right into Billy Bob just as he was getting up, and they both landed in a heap, laughing. Billy Bob pulled a clump of grass from Nellie Sue’s hair, and together, they carefully climbed back up the hill.

This time, when they reached the top, they were in for a surprise. Jester had eaten every last carrot and apple slice, polished off the peanut butter sandwiches, and was just finishing the brownies. “No!” cried Billy Bob, “he’s eaten everything!”

So, Billy Bob did the only thing he could think of. He opened a water bottle and poured it over the horse’s head. “There, Jester,” he said, “now you’ve had it all.”