The Mississippi Hush Puppy
by Detrick Anderson
5th Grade, Shannon Elementary
Once upon a time there lived a couple in the little town of Shannon, Mississippi named Nancy and Otis. One evening at dinner time they were very hungry. As a result, Otis went to their freezer to get cornmeal and decided to fry some good ole hush puppies. First, he put grease into the deep fryer. Then he cut up some onions and mixed them with corn meal, milk, and an egg. Next, Otis added salt to season them, and he rolled the batter into balls. To make them taste good, Otis added some corn that made the hush puppy look like it had eyes, a green pepper shaped like a nose, and a mouth-like line of ketchup.
As Otis fried the hush puppies, Nancy walked into the kitchen because she smelled the delicious aroma. When she looked into the deep fryer, she thought she saw a moving hush puppy! Nancy said to herself, “Me and my man ain’t gonna eat no moving hush puppies!” But Nancy kept the thought to herself. When the food was finally done, Nancy was so hungry that she decided to eat the hush puppies anyway. Well, as she put one into her mouth, the hush puppy yelled, “Wait, wait, wait! Don’t eat me!” So, Nancy spit it out of her mouth, and it rolled quickly out the back door.
Nancy and Otis ran after him as fast as they could, but he just laughed and shouted, “Hush, hush, hush yo mouth. I’m the fastest hush puppy in the South.” And they couldn’t catch him.
The hush puppy rolled next door into the pet shop. He saw hungry gators, snakes, monkeys, and a little dog. As he rolled along, all the animals made hissing and barking sounds at him. The gator said to himself, “I’m going to eat that hush puppy!” So, when the hush puppy came near, the gator snapped quietly, “I’m going to eat you alive!” Then the Mississippi hush puppy said, “Hush, hush, hush yo mouth. I’m the fastest hush puppy in the South.”
Next, the snake began to hiss, “Hush puppy, I’ll eat you if you don’t run.” But the hush puppy said, “Hush, hush, hush yo mouth. I’m the fastest hush puppy in the South.”
As the hush puppy rolled on down the aisle of the pet shop, he saw a dumb monkey. The monkey said, “I’ll jump on you and smush you. You better run. You better run!” The hush puppy said, “Hush, hush, hush yo mouth. I’m the fastest hush puppy in the South.”
Finally, the small dog barked at the hush puppy. He said, “I’ll take you safely through the pet shop. Just hop on my back.” So, the hush puppy did. The pooch took the hush puppy out of the pet store.
As they moved along, the hush puppy could not help but roll onto the dog’s shoulder. Then the dog said, “Jump on my head.” So, he did. Once the hush puppy landed on the dog’s head, it happened. The hush puppy cried out, “Oh! No!”
The hush puppy slipped off the dog’s nose and landed in the dog’s mouth. CRUNCH! The little dog growled, “You are not the fastest hush puppy in the South. I am!” SLURP!
Note from Dianne: I visited Shannon Elementary in April and students in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades participated in a writing contest creating stories inspired by my book, The Cajun Cornbread Boy. This is the 3rd-grade winner. Congratulations, Detrick! Do a happy dance! 😉 By the way, did you know that beagles (the dog pictured above) are known as “hush puppies?!”