BOB SMITH . . . BY JASON BRUNER . . .

Let me tell you the story of old Bob Smith.  Bob was a rather unusual person.  He fell from the sky at the age of 2 and was carrying a hammer and an axle.  He landed right in front of the Smith's house.  He hit the ground so hard that the force nearly blew the roof of their house.  The Smiths came running out to see what happened.  They were shocked when they saw a baby.  When they saw the hammer and axle in his hand they knew he was destined to be a Black Smith.  So they decided to raise him as Bob Smith.  When Bob was 7 he could already make a metal wheel with a slam of a hammer.  Each year he grew stronger and stronger and by the age of 25 he was so strong he could lift 200 tons without any struggle.  He was the strongest and smartest man in the West.  When Bob was 30 years old he received a letter asking if he would like to be the blacksmith for his town.  Bob loved the offer so he packed up his things and headed to town.  By the time Bob arrived in town the word had spread that he was the new Black Smith.  Everyone was giving him greetings and winking at him.  When he started to make his first axle he dropped the hot metal on his hand and burned it.  So from then on whenever anyone saw Bob they'd call him Bob Axle because of that accident.  From age 30 to 65 John made chains and axles and hammers and wheels for the whole town.  Bob lived a happy life until he was 77; he was still a Black Smith and gave out from a Heart Attack.  Bob finished his final axle right before he died.