XXII
HOW BROTHER RABBIT FRIGHTENED HIS NEIGHBORS
When Uncle Remus was in a good humor he turned the most trifling incidents into excuses for amusing the little boy with his stories. One night while he was hunting for a piece of candle on the shelf that took the place of a mantel over the fireplace, he knocked down a tin plate. It fell upon the hearth with a tremendous clatter.
"Dar now!" exclaimed Uncle Remus. "Hit 's a blessin' dat dat ar platter is got mo' backbone dan de common run er crockery, 'kaze 't would er bin bust all ter flinderations long time ago. Dat ar platter is got dents on it w'at Miss Sally put dar w'en she 'uz a little bit er gal. Yet dar 't is, en right dis minnit hit'll hol' mo' vittles dan w'at I got ter put in it.
"I lay," the old man continued, leaning his hand against the chimney and gazing at the little boy reflectively,—"I lay ef de creeturs had a bin yer w'iles all dat clatterment gwine on dey'd a lef' bidout tellin' anybody good-bye. All 'ceppin' Brer Rabbit. Bless yo' soul, he'd er stayed fer ter see de fun, des lak he did dat t'er time w'en he skeer um all so. I 'speck I done tole you 'bout dat."
"When he got the honey on him and rolled in the leaves?"
Uncle Remus thought a moment.
"Ef I make no mistakes in my 'membunce, dat wuz de time w'en he call hisse'f de Wull-er-de-Wust."
The little boy corroborated Uncle Remus's memory.