Old Hendrik's Tales

by Arthur Owen Vaughan

“‘Allah Crachty now!’ ses King Lion, ‘ain’t dat funny! But where’s darie Ou’ Jackalse? Let’s have dis Hahsie doctored in less’n two shakes of a lamb’s tail.’

“So dey puts Little Hahsie to bed, an’ Ou’ Jackalse turn everybody out o’ de room while he can ’xamine him. He look him over, an’ he turn him over, an’ he feel him over, an’ den—well den, Ou’ Jackalse he wink at Ole Hahsie, slow an’ solemn, an’ Ole Hahsie he wink at Ou’ Jackalse half a-grinnin’.

“‘I tink you’ back’s pretty bad,’ ses Ou’ Jackalse. ‘I ’specs you’ll ha’ to stop in bed dese nex’ days or two, an’ nice bits o’ scoff to tempt your appetite.’

“‘Yes,’ ses Hahsie. ‘A bit o’ sugar cane or a water-millon now ’ud do me pretty fine.’

“So Little Hahsie has to stop in bed for a week, an’ all de time his wife’s a-grumblin’ at him ’cause she has to wait on him, an tellin’ him she’ll tell King Lion. An’ Hahsie tells her she’d yust better do it, dat’s all. But all dis time he’s s’posed to a-ketched sich a fair ole cold dat he cahnt har’ly whisper, an’ his back’s dat bad he cahnt har’ly bend it.

“Well, come de end o’ de week an’ King Lion ’gun to smell a rat. ‘To-day you can go an’ work in de to’acco lands,’ ses he.

“Little Hahsie don’t like dat, but he has to go an’ git hold. He lifts dat hoe, an’ he look at dat row, an’ he squint out on de grass alongside an’ see a nice round Aard-Vark hole. But he don’t look de oder way, else he’d a-seen King Lion hidin’ hisse’f to watch him. ‘To’acco hoein’s worse’n watchin’ cows,’ ses Hahsie, as he bent his back an’ put his hoe to work.

“Now de day was yust de sort o’ day for makin’ you feel good, an’ Hahsie hadn’t hoed ten yards ’fore he forgot all about everytin’ but wishin’ he was out on de veldt. An’ all de time King Lion in his hidin’ place was watchin’ an’ watchin’ till at last he stick his head up an’ shout out—‘Hahsie! Klein Hahsie!’

“‘Here I is!’ ses Hahsie, clear out an’ yumpin’ up, forgettin’ dat cold an’ dat sore back he’s s’posed to be sick wid.

“King Lion he ses yust one word—‘Ho!’ ses he, an’ he make a forty mile spring to ketch Ole Hahsie.