“O Lusifer how thou hav fallin! You proud ones will find den dat your days iz over, an’ ye dat hav despised de chillun uv my Gord wil sink down inter hell, jes’ as low es it is posserbul ter git. Yer needn’t tel ’im dat yer hev preached in His name, an’ in His name done many wonderful works. Yer can’t fool Him! He’ll frown down at yer an’ say: I don’t know yer, an’ I don’t wan’ ter know yer, an’ I don’ wan’ ter see yer. Git out uv My site forever, an’ go ter your place ermong de lost.
“Ah, truly, it is a mity stone, bin rollin’ all dese senshuriz, rollin’ to-day. May it roll through the kingdum uv darknis and crush de enemis uv Gord. Dat stone done got so big dat it is higher dan heav’n, broader dan de earth, and deeper dan hell hitsef. But don’t be deceived. Don’t think dat I don’ let yer off. I got somethin’ more fer yer yit.
“Yer member Dan’l and Shadrick, Meeshick an’ Erbedniggo. Dey all stubbonly fused to bow down ter Nebukidnezzur’s golden imige. Dey stood straight up. Dey wudn’t bend a knee nor cruk a toe, an’ dem Kaldeeuns wuz waatchin’ um. Dat’s de way hit always iz; de debbul’s folks iz always er watchin’ us an’ tryin’ ter git sumthin’ on us an’ ter git us inter trubbul an’ wid too many uv us dey succeed. Dey saw dat Dan’l an’ his friens wud not git down lik dey dun, an’ up dey jumped an’ away dey cut an’ kum ter de king.
“Oh, king, liv ferevur,’ dey say. ‘Yer know, O king, wat yer sed,—dat dercree dat yer made, dat at de soun’ uv de kornit, de flute, de harp, de sackbut, de saltry an’ de dulsermur an’ orl kines uv musik, dat ev’ry body shud fall down an’ wurshep de goldin imige, an’ dat dose dat duz not fall down an’ worshep shud be put in de furnis; an’ now, oh, king, dey say dat a lot uv dose men dun refews. Dey doan regard yer. Dey hate yer Gods an’ spize de imige dat yer sot up.’
“Coarse de ole king got mad agin an’ in his fury dey brought dese three befo’ him. He axed um ef wat he had heerd ’bout um wuz so,—’bout dere not worsheppin’ de goldin imige. ‘Mayby yer med a mistake,’ de king say, ‘but we gwine ter hev it ovur agin, an’ ef wen de ban’ strikes up nex’ time yer will git down an’ worshep it’ll go eezy wid yer, an’ ef yer doant de fires in de furnis will be startid quick es litenin’ an’ inter it ev’ry one uv yer shall go.’
“Dese wuz yung men, but, ah, I tel yer, dey wuz uv de loyul stock. Dey wuz jes’ es kam es sunrise in de mornin’. Dey sed: ‘Oh, king, we ain’ keerful ter anser ’bout dis mattur. Ef yer lik ter cas’ us inter de furnis, our Gord dat we surv iz abul ter git us out. We ain’ gwine ter bow, an’ we nevur will bow ter your Gord, an’ yer jes’ es well understan’.’
“Rite den de men went ter heet up de furnis. Dey wuz tol’ ter heet it up sevun times hottur dan wuz de ginrul rule an’ dey hed sum jiunts ter tie Shedrak, Meeshik, an’ Erbedniggo, an’ dey tuk de yung men away inter de furnis. De heet wuz so terribul dat de flames shot out an’ sot fire ter de men dat had put de Hebru chillun in an’ de po’ retchiz wuz burn’d up, but not a hair uv de three yung men wuz sing’d, an’ dey kum out er smilin’ an’ not a blistur on um frum hed ter fut. Dey did not evun hev any smell uv fire ’bout dere pussuns, an’ dey luk jes’ lik dey jes’ kum out uv dressin’ rums.
“Neberkidnezzur wuz dar, an’ he say: ‘Luk in dat furnis dar. We didn’t put but three pussons in dar, did we?’ an’ dey tol’ ’im dat wuz so. Den he tun pale an’ luk skeered lik he gwine ter die an’ he say:
“‘Luk dar; I see fo’ men inside an’ walkin’ through de fire, an’ de form uv de fourth is lik de Son uv Gord,’ an’ it luk lik de king got kunvurtid dat day, fur he lif’ up his vois an’ shout de praiz uv de Gord uv Shedrak, Meeshik an’ Erbedniggo.