The Pimienta Pancakes (Henry)
from the Collection «Heart of the West»
A man named Judson Odom, who was a camp cook, found himself injured and unable to work. During his recovery, he developed a craving for pancakes and asked his friend if he could make them. His friend, suspicious of Judson's intentions, questioned if he was trying to mock him about a past pancake incident. Judson assured him that he was sincere in his request.
Judson then shared a story about his pursuit of a woman named Miss Willella Learight and his rivalry with a sheep rancher named Jackson Bird. Jackson had also been trying to win Willella's affection, but claimed that his only interest in her was to learn her family's secret pancake recipe.
Judson and Jackson agreed to work together to obtain the recipe, with the understanding that Jackson would stop pursuing Willella once he had it.
I'd give two years of my life to get the recipe for making them pancakes.
Despite their efforts, the two men were unable to get the recipe from Willella or her uncle, who guarded it closely.
Eventually, Jackson revealed that he had tricked Judson and had been courting Willella all along. The two were married and moved away, leaving Judson heartbroken and still craving pancakes.
Years later, Judson found a pancake recipe in a newspaper and began making them for others, but never ate them himself. When asked why he didn't eat the pancakes, Judson simply replied that he never ate them, perhaps as a reminder of his lost love and the deception he had experienced.