Uncle Remus managed to emphasize certain words so as to give a laughably accurate imitation of a cackling hen. He went on:
“Now, den, w’en de rooster year de Dominicker Hen a-cacklin’, I boun’ you he gwine ter jine in. He’ll up en say, sezee:
“‘Yo’ foot so big, yo’ foot so wide, yo’ foot so long. I can’t git a shoe ter-fit-it, ter-fit-it, ter-fit-it!’
“En den dar dey ’ll have it, up en down, qua’llin’ des like sho’-nuff folks.”
The little boy waited for Uncle Remus to go on, but the old man was done. He leaned back in his chair and began to hum a tune.
After a while the youngster said:
“Uncle Remus, you know you told me that you’d sing me a song every time I brought you a piece of cake.”
“I ’speckt I did, honey—I ’speckt I did. Ole ez I is, I got a mighty sweet toofe. Yit I ain’t see no cake dis night.”
“Here it is,” said the child, taking a package from his pocket.
“Yasser!” exclaimed the old man, with a chuckle, “dar she is! En all wrop up, in de bargain. I ’m mighty glad you helt ’er back, honey, kaze now I can take dat cake en chune up wid ’er en sing you one er dem ole-time songs, en folks gwine by ’ll say we er kyar’n on a camp-meetin’.”