36 WILD SPOETS IN THE SOUTH. 



possum's a fool. Bat de ole alligator growls em down 

 an' den he say : 



" ' Possum, he great ammal ; not kase he fast, for he 

 bery slow ; not kase he strong and km fight, for he bery 

 weak ; but kase he's sly. When he sees anythin' cumin 

 he make b'lieve sleep an' ketch em. When he get 

 ketched heself he make b'lieve dead, an' dey let him go. 

 Now you all play possum.' 



'' Den ole alligator send all de picaninnies back in de 

 water an' dey grow bery smart. An' dey learn to lay in 

 de grass for sumthin to cum long nice, an' den gobble em 

 up. An' dey roll in de mud till gets all covered, an' den 

 cum up in de sun to get dry, an' . nobody take him for 

 alligator, an' would cum an' sit right down on em, an' 

 den he grab em. An' after a while he gets so he lays 

 side to de water, little piece back, an' wdien anyting 

 cums along de bank, he hit him a slap wid his tail an' 

 knock em in de water, and den he slide in after an' eat 

 cm up, an' de only ting he won't hurt 'tall is de possum. 

 Possum nebber gits ketched 'tall, an' dat am a fac." 



Before the negro's fable had ended, one by one his 

 auditors' pipes had gone oul The fire had burned low, 

 and shadow^s, not parlor shadows, but huge ghostly shad- 

 ows, went and came among the forest aisles as the fire 

 flickered high and low. -In Scipio's legend I remembered 

 my first experience with alligators, and as it is of a kin 

 with the legend, and as Scip, immediately after his recital 

 travelled aw^ay to the land of dreams, I will describe it : 



I v/as visiting a friend some years ago who lived on 



