“Well, dar wuz ol’ Craney-Crow, an’ dar wuz de Thing you call de Swamp, an’ bimeby de sun riz an’ let his lamp shine in dar in places; an den’ ol’ Craney-Crow had time fer ter look roun’ an’ see whar he wuz at. But when he fin’ out, he ain’t know no mo’ dan what he know at fus’. Now, you kin say what you please, an’ you kin laugh ef you wanter, but I’m a-gwine ter tell you dat de Swamp know’d dat dey wuz somebody dar what ain’t b’long dar. Ef you ax me how de Swamp know’d, I’ll shake my head an’ shet my eyes; an’ ef you ax me how I know it know’d, I’ll des laugh at you. You’ll hatter take my word er leave it, I don’t keer which. But dar ’twuz. De Swamp know’d dat somebody wuz dar what ain’t b’long dar, an’ it went ter sleep an’ had bad dreams, an’ it keep on havin’ dem dreams all day long.”
The little boy had accepted Uncle Remus’s statements up to this point, but when he said that the Swamp went to sleep and had bad dreams, the child fairly gasped with doubtful astonishment. “Why, Uncle Remus, how could a swamp go to sleep?”
“It’s des like I tell you, honey; you kin take my word er you kin leave it. One way er de yuther, you won’t be no better off dan what you is right now. All I know is dis, dat you can’t tell no tale ter dem what don’t b’lieve it.”
“Do you believe it, Uncle Remus? Mother says the stories are fables.” Thus the little boy was imbued, without knowing it, with the modern spirit of scientific doubt.
“Does you speck I’d tell you a tale dat I don’t b’lieve? Why, I dunner how I’d put de words one atter de yuther. Whensomever you ain’t b’lievin’ what I’m a-tellin’, honey, des le’ me know, an’ I won’t take de time an’ trouble fer ter tell it.”
“Well, tell me about the Swamp and old Craney-Crow,” said the little boy, placing his small hand on Uncle Remus’s knee coaxingly.
“Well, suh, ef so be I must, den I shill. Whar wuz I? Yasser! de Swamp, bein’ wide-awake all night long, is bleeze ter sleep endurin’ er de day, an’ so, wid ol’ Craney-Crow stannin’ in de water, when de sun rise up, de Swamp know dat sump’n wuz wrong, an’ it went ter sleep an’ had mighty bad dreams. De sun riz an’ riz; it come up on one side er de Swamp, an’ atter so long a time stood over it an’ look down fer ter see what de matter. But bright ez de lamp er de sun wuz, it can’t light up de Swamp, an’ so it went on over an’ went down on t’er side.
“De day wuz in about like deze days is, an’ whiles de sun wuz s’archin’ roun’ tryin’ fer ter fin’ out what de trouble is in de Swamp, ol’ Craney-Crow wuz wadin’ ’bout in de water tryin’ ter fin’ some frog steak fer his dinner, er maybe a fish fer ter whet his appetite on. But dey wa’n’t nary frog ner nary fish, kaze de Swamp done gone ter sleep. De mo’ ol’ Craney-Crow waded de mo’ shallerer de water got, twel bimeby day wa’n’t nuff fer ter mo’ dan wet his foots. He say, ‘Hey! how come dis?’ But he ain’t got no answer, kaze de Swamp, wid all its bad dreams, wuz soun’ asleep. Dey wuz pools er water roun’ an’ about, an’ ol’ Craney-Crow went fum one ter de yuther, an’ fum yuther ter t’other, but ’tain’t do him no good. He went an’ stood by um, he did, but whiles he stannin’ dar, dey wa’n’t a riffle on top un um. Bimeby he got tired er walkin’ about, an’ he stood on one leg fer ter res’ hisse’f—dough ef anybody’ll tell me how you gwineter res’ yo’se’f wid stannin’ on one leg, I’ll set up an’ tell um tales fum now tell Chris’mus, kaze ef I git tired I kin stan’ on one leg an’ do my restin’ dat a-way.