“‘Buil’ a fier und’ de pot en heat de water hot.’
“W’en de water got scaldin’ hot, de little boy say:
“‘All ready, now. Stick yo’ head in. Hit ’s de onliest way fer ter make yo’ ha’r curl.’
“Den de ole B’ar stuck he head in de water, en dot wuz de las’ er him, bless gracious! De scaldin’ water curlt de ha’r twel it come off, en I speck dat whar dey get de idee ’bout puttin’ b’ar grease on folks’ ha’r. De young b’ars dey cry like ever’ting w’en dey see how der daddy bin treated, en dey want bite and scratch de little boy en his sister, but dem dogs—dat Minnyminny Morack en dat Follerlinsko—dey des laid holt er dem dar b’ars, en dey want enough lef’ er um ter feed a kitten.”
“What did they do then?” asked the little boy who had been listening to the story. The old man took off his spectacles and cleaned the glasses on his coat-tail.
“ALL READY, NOW. STICK YO’ HEAD IN.”
“Well, sir,” he went on, “de little boy tuck ’n kyard his sister home, an’ his mammy says she ain’t never gwine ter set no sto’ by folks wid fine cloze, kaze dey so ’ceitful; no, never, so long as de Lord mout spar’ ’er. En den, atter dat, dey tuck ’n live terge’er right straight ’long, en ef it hadn’t but a bin fer de war, dey’d a bin a-livin’ dar now. Bekaze war is a mighty dangersome business.”
HOW BLACK SNAKE CAUGHT THE WOLF
“One time,” said Uncle Remus, putting the “noses” of the chunks together with his cane, so as to make a light in his cabin, “Brer Rabbit en ole Brer Wolf wuz gwine down de road terge’er, en Brer Wolf, he ’low dat times wuz mighty hard en money skace. Brer Rabbit, he ’gree ’long wid ’im, he did, dat times wuz mighty tight, en he up en say dat ’t wuz in about much ez he kin do fer ter make bofe en’s meet. He ’low, he did: