“My word, Missus!” he said, “big mob hair sit down longa you cobra,” meaning, “what a lot of hair you’ve got on your head.” Just think what lovely belts and things he would have ordered me to make, if only I had been his mother-in-law; but I wasn’t, and I’m sure Billy Muck was the only person who was really sorry about it.
Bett-Bett was Jimmy’s mother-in-law. Of course she wasn’t married yet, only engaged to Billy Muck; but that did not matter. She was Jimmy’s mother-in-law, and when she did grow up and have a piccaninny, it was to be his wife. In the meantime, nobody else could have her spare hair.
Common string is all right for common things, but charms and belts and special things must have hair-string, or they won’t keep Debbil-debbils away properly. This way of having the mother-in-law’s hair divides the hair of the tribe very evenly, as every man has two or three mothers-in-law.
When the treacle was finished, Sue began to dig a hole to lie down in. As she dug, she scratched up a little red and yellow worm. With a yell all the lubras grabbed hold of the poor little dog, and nearly pulled her in pieces in their hurry to get her away. Then they all shrieked and jabbered, and pointed at the scraggy wriggling thing, while Sue sat just where they had thrown her, too astonished to move.
“Well,” I said, “that worm won’t eat us, will it?”
“Him Rainbow Debbil-debbil,” they shrieked, shaking with fear at Sue’s narrow escape.
“Nonsense,” I said; “it’s only a worm.”
But they insisted that it was a baby Rainbow.
“Him piccaninny Rainbow alright,” they cried.
“Don’t be so silly,” I said, and bent forward to pick it up in my fingers; but they yelled their very best at this, and caught hold of my arms.