“Den de quality ladies got mighty mad. Dey walked ’roun’ dat tree en fairly snorted. Dey pulled off der bonnets, en der veils, en der dresses, en, lo en beholes! de little boy seen dey wuz two great big pant’ers. Dey had great big eyes, en big sharp tushes, en great long tails, en dey look up at de little boy en growl en grin at ’im twel he come mighty nigh havin’ a chill. Dey tried ter clam de tree, but dey had done trim der claws so dey could git on gloves, en dey couldn’t clam no mo’.
“Den one er um sot down in de road en made a kuse mark in de san’, en der great long tails tu’n’d ter axes, en no sooner is der tails tu’n ter axes den dey ’gun ter cut de tree down. I ain’t dast ter tell you how sharp dem axes wuz, kase you wouldn’t nigh b’lieve me. One er um stood on one side er de tree, en de yuther one stood on de yuther side, en dey whack at dat tree like dey wuz takin’ a holiday. Dey whack out chips ez big ez yo’ hat, en’t want so mighty long ’fo’ de tree wuz ready fer ter fall.
“But w’iles de little boy wuz settin’ up dar, skeerd mighty nigh ter def, hit come inter his min’ dat he had some eggs in his pocket w’at he done brung wid ’im fer ter eat w’enever he git hongry. He tuck out one er de eggs en broke it, en say: ‘Place, fill up!’ en, bless yo’ soul! de place fill up sho ’nuff, en de tree look des ’zackly like nobody ain’t bin a-cuttin’ on it.
“But dem ar pant’ers dey wuz werry vig’rous. Dey des spit on der han’s en cut away. W’en dey git de tree mighty nigh cut down de little boy he pull out ’n’er egg en broke it, en say, ‘Place, fill up!’ en by de time he say it de tree wuz done made soun’ agin. Dey kep’ on dis away twel de little boy ’gun ter git skeerd agin. He done broke all he eggs, ’ceptin’ one, en dem ar creeturs wuz des a-cuttin’ away like dey wuz venomous, w’ich dey mos’ sholy wuz.
“Des ’bout dat time de little boy mammy happen ter stumble over de pan er water w’at wuz settin’ down on de flo’, en dar it wuz all done tu’n ter blood. Den she tuck ’n run en unloose Minnyminny Morack en Follerlinsko. Den w’en she do dat she see de wilier lim’ a-shakin’, en den she put de dogs on de little boy track, en away dey went. De little boy year um a-comin’, en he holler out:
“‘Come on, my good dogs. Here, dogs, here.’
“De pant’ers dey stop choppin’ en lissen. One ax de yuther one w’at she year. Little boy say:
“‘You don’ year nothin’. Go on wid yo’ choppin.
“De pant’ers dey chop some mo’, en den dey think dey year de dogs a-comin’. Den dey try der bes fer ter git away, but’t want no use. Dey ain’t got time fer ter change der axes back inter tails, en co’se dey can’t run wid axes draggin’ behin’ um. So de dogs cotch um. De little boy, he ’low:
“‘Shake um en bite um. Drag um ’roun’ en ’roun’ twel you drag um two mile.’ So de dogs dey drag um ’roun’ two mile. Den de little boy say, sezee: