George Crooks and the Lizard

And they worked in what they called the lumber woods, he was working in the camp, and Lottie used to cook for them--she was a wonderful cook; oh my, things would melt in your mouth--anyway, this time, she wasn't with them, but there was another cook in the camp.  And there was the people up in Country Harbour, they was frightened of everything--germs, you know--and somebody said that they had seen a lizard.  And this was in the fall of the year, the snow wasn't on yet or anything.  

And one day, George come to the camp early.  He said, "Cook, give me a piece of raw meat, and let's cut out a lizard."  And they boiled it, and made it right white, this piece of meat, and then he cut out this thing that looked like a lizard.  And they kept it.  And when the fellows from Country Harbour was sitting around the table, and they said that tea tasted weird to them, and they didn't know what was wrong with it.  And the cook said, "There's nothing wrong with the tea," he said, "That's just your imagination!"  "No, it's not, we taste something weird."  And George said--he called him by name, whatever his name was--he said, "Well, cook, they're right this time."  He said, "Look, I found this lizard..."  And the Country Harbour fellows said, "Let us pray; we're all dead men!"

Oh my, that's what they were up to, all kinds of tricks.  He'd tell stories on himself, you know, just the same...Yes, Lottie could cook...