“‘Hoho!’ ses Hahsie. ‘Yestiday I offer’ to fetch you garden stuff an’ you ses you’s got weeds. S’pose I says now—“What do I want wid fis’es—I’s got honey?”—eh?’
“Ou’ Sculpat he try to tink dat over, an’ dis time it’s Little Hahsie is a-grinnin’. ‘Yestiday you laugh’ at me,’ ses Hahsie. ‘What price you laugh at yourse’f to-day? You wouldn’t gi’e me what you had, but you want me to gi’e you what I got. What’s de difference, Sculpat?’
“‘Honey,’ ses Sculpat; ‘an’ you’s got it. How many silver fis’es you want for dat calabas’ o’ honey?’
“‘Ten,’ ses Hahsie.
“‘Right,’ ses Sculpat. ‘You be here in half an hour an’ I’ll have de ten ready.’
“Well, Little Hahsie he hop off wid de same ole drummin’ on de calabas’, an’ de same ole song, ‘Hahsie, Hahsie, Calabasie! Dum! Dum! Dum!’ Ou’ Sculpat he sets to work to ketch dem fis’es.”
“But, Ou’ Ta’,” interrupted the eldest boy, “how does Ou’ Sculpat catch fish?”
“Ah!” answered the old Hottentot slyly; “dat’s yust what Ou’ Sculpat ain’t never let anyb’dy see yet. Dat’s why he sent Klein Hahsie away till he done it. But anyhow, he ketched dese yere ten, an’ laid ’em out on de green o’ de grass, all white an’ shinin’ silver in de sun; dey looked mighty fine an’ tasty, I can tell you. An’ den along comes Little Hahsie agen wid de calabas’.
“‘Here’s de fis’; where’s de honey?’ ses Ou’ Sculpat.
“‘Here’s de honey: count de fis’,’ ses Hahsie.