"Which man was that, Uncle Remus?" asked the little boy.
"Des a man, honey. Dat's all. Dat's all I knows--des wunner dese
yer mans w'at you see trollopin 'roun' eve'y day. Nobody ain't
never year w'at his name is, en ef dey did dey kep' de news
mighty close fum me. Ef dish yer man is bleedzd fer ter have a
name, den I'm done, kaze you'll hatter go fudder dan me. Ef you
bleedzd ter know mo' dan w'at I duz, den you'll hatter hunt up
some er deze yer niggers w'at's sprung up sence I commence fer
ter shed my ha'r."
"Well, I just thought, Uncle Remus," said the little boy, in a
tone remarkable for self-depreciation, "that the man had a name."
"Tooby sho," replied the old man, with unction, puffing away at
his pipe. "Co'se. Dat w'at make I say w'at I duz. Dish yer man
mout a had a name, en den ag'in he moutn't. He mont er bin name
Slip-shot Sam, en he mouter bin name ole One-eye Riley, w'ich ef
'twuz hit ain't bin handed roun' ter me. But dish yer man, he in
de tale, en w'at we gwine do wid 'im? Dat's de p'int, kase w'en I
git ter huntin' 'roun' 'mong my 'membunce atter dish yer Mister
W'atyoumaycollum's name, she ain't dar. Now den, le's des call
'im Mr. Man en let 'im go at dat."
The silence of the little boy gave consent.
"One time," said Uncle Remus, carefully taking up the thread of
the story where it had been dropped, "hit turn out dat Brer
Rabbit bin makin' so free wid Mr. Man's greens en truck dat Mr.
Man, he tuck'n sot a trap for Brer Rabbit, en Brer Rabbit he so
greedy dat he tuck'n walk right spang in it, 'fo' he know
hisse'f. Well, 'twa'n't long 'fo' yer come Mr. Man, broozin'
'roun', en he ain't no sooner see ole Brer Rabbit dan he smack
his han's tergedder en holler out:
"'You er nice feller, you is! Yer you bin gobblin' up my green
truck, en now you tryin' ter tote off my trap. You er mighty nice
chap--dat's w'at you is! But now dat I got you, I'll des 'bout
settle wid you fer de ole en de new.'
"En wid dat, Mr. Man, he go off, he did, down in de bushes atter
han'ful er switches. Ole Brer Rabbit, he ain't sayin' nuthin',
|