TRAINING THE BOY
W'en I wus a liddle boy,
Jes thirteen inches high,
I useter climb de table legs,
An' steal off cake an' pie.
Altho' I wus a liddle boy,
An' tho' I wusn't high,
My mammy took dat keen switch down,
An' whupped me till I cry.
Now I is a great big boy,
An' Mammy, she cain't do it;
My daddy gits a great big stick,
An' pulls me right down to it.
Dey say: "No breakin' dishes now;
No stealin' an' no lies."
An' since I is a great big boy,
Dey 'spects me to act wise.
[48]BAT! BAT!
Bat! Bat! Come un'er my hat,
An' I'll give you a slish o' bacon.
But don't bring none yō' ole bedbugs,
If you don't want to git fersaken.
[48] A superstition that it is good luck to catch a bat in one's hat if he doesn't get bedbugs by so doing.
RANDSOME TANTSOME
Randsome Tantsome!—Gwine to de Fair?
Randsome Tantsome!—W'at you gwineter wear?
"Dem shoes an' stockin's I'se bound to wear!"
Randsome Tantsome a-gwine to de Fair.