Yo Bear, Yo

This is how they roll in Arkansas.

Well, this is among the most ridiculous stories I've read in quite some time.

Evidently, a 5-year old descendant of Davy Crockett named Tre Merritt killed a bear. We'll let Tre's grandfather explain:

"His 10th great-grandfather was Davy Crockett," Mike Merritt said. "And Davy supposedly killed him a bear when he was three. And Tre is five and really killed a bear. I really doubt if Davy killed one when he was three."

Tre confirmed grandpa's story:

"I was up in the stand and I seen the bear," Tre Merritt said. "It came from the thicket and it was beside the road and I shot it."

You might have the same questions that I do about this story:

1. Where in the United States do they let 5-year olds shoot guns?

2. Where in the United States do they teach people to speak like the Merritts?

The answer to both of those questions is the great state of Arkansas, apparently.

Finally, the touching conclusion to the story:

The bear turned out to be 445 pounds — 12 times the weight of Tre. Mike Merritt said tears rolled down his cheeks when he found out his grandson killed the enormous bear.

Tre Merritt's father, Wheatley, said he began teaching his son to shoot when he was just 2 ½ years old, and said Tre killed three deer last year.

OK, I've got tears rolling down my cheek too, but it's from laughter at this ridiculous story. Good lord.