The Wounded Buzzard on Christmas Eve
The Wounded Buzzard on Christmas Eve is the 13th book in the Hank the Cowdog book series.
Plot
It is Christmas Eve on the ranch on which Hank the Cowdog and his assistant, Drover, live. It starts off with them running to see a truck that is coming down the road. Out comes the ranch hand, Slim, and Slim puts down a package that Hank thinks is for him. Slim then trips over the local cat, Pete. In the end the package turns out to be for the ranch's owner, High Loper. High Loper then gives Slim the job of taking his son, Little Alfred, to the Christmas Parade in town. While driving to town, the turkey vulture, Wallace, suddenly goes flying through the windshield. Slim wants to leave him on the ground next to the road but Alfred wants to keep it, so they put Wallace in a bag and put it in the back of the truck. Once they reach town, Hank notices a little poodle making fun of him. He in the end scares the poodle, but the poodle's owner hits Hank with her bag. Later, after a long day of shopping, Alfred opens the bag that Wallace is in. Wallace is walking around the back of the truck and yells out at four stray dogs who were walking around. The stray dogs are led by Buster, who is mostly German Shepherd, and his second-in-command a bulldog named Muggs. Wallace insults the dogs and they go after him. At the same time the parade begins. Buster says "go after that turkey!" which is what he calls Wallace. Hank tries to protect Wallace. The four dogs begin to beat on Hank and he ends up in a huge amount of pain but he was still able to walk. Junior, Wallace's son, goes running out into the street and makes the horse that pulls Santa Claus's sleigh jump. Hank meets face to face with Buster. The horse begins to jump every which way. And then Slim comes out and stops the horse from causing to much chaos, and saving Santa Claus. The stray dogs then run away. In the end they send Wallace off into the wilderness with his son, Junior.
Major Characters
- Hank- Head of Ranch Security
- Drover- Hank's assistant
- Slim Chance- Ranch hand
- Alfred- five-year-old, son of Ranch Owner
- Wallace- old turkey vulture
- Buster- leader of the town stray-dogs, mostly German Shepherd, villain in book
- Muggs- bulldog, Buster's second-in-command, villain in book
- Other Two Stray Dogs- two other crossbreeds, villains in book
- Junior- turkey vulture, son of Wallace
Songs
- My Daddy Had a Wreck Today- Junior sings it after Wallace has his accident
- A Pox, a Pox on Emily Post- Wallace sings when he talks about his dislike for etiquette