THE CAMP FIRE. 19 



Toreckly young 'gators cum, an' ole marm 'gator cum, an' dey all 

 stand dere togedder, an' ef de moon is shinen it 's real savage fur 

 to see 'em. An' de ole 'gator he takes de chair, an' he tell 'em, and 

 dis jes what he tell 'em, I knows it 's so, and so does Aunty Foko : 



" ' You chillen, yer great fools ! you tink you sumt'in an you 

 aint nuttin. You live half de time on land, t' udder half time in 

 bayou, an' so you ben't smart in nudder. You be so loggish-like 

 in de water yer can't ketch fishes, and yer got such little legs on 

 land yer can't come up to nuttin. Now yer must lam, and when 

 you 've larnt den you '11 know sumpsin. And I 'm gwine to give 

 you a teacher, and he 's de possum.' 



 When de ole 'gator says dis all de chillen dey larf, for dey 

 knows what possum is, for dey seed 'em a pokin' long the b'yous, 

 and dey 's clined to de pinion dat possum 's a fool. But de ole 

 'gator growls 'em down an' den he say — 



"  Possum, he great animal ; not kase he fast, for he bery slow ; 

 not kase he strong and kin fight, for he bery weak ; but kase he 's 

 sly. Ef he sees anytin' cumin he make b'lieve sleep an' ketch 'em. 

 Ef he 's get ketched heself, he make b'lieve dead, an' dey lets him 

 go. Now ye all play possum.' 



" Den ole 'gator send all de picaninnies back in de water an' 

 dey grow bery smart. An' dey learn to lay in de hog parf for 

 sumsin to cum long nice, an' den gobble 'em up. An' dey roll in 

 de mud till gets all kivered, an' den cum outen in de sun to get 

 dry, an' nobody take 'em for 'gator, 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 along de hog parf, an' 

 when anyting cum along de bank, he hit him a slap wi' his tail an' 

 knock 'em in de water, and den he slide in after an' eat 'em 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 out. The fire had burned low, and shadows, not 

 parlour shadows, but huge ghostly shadows, went and came among 

 the forest aisles as the fire nickered high and low. In Scipio's 

 legend I remembered my first experience with alligators, and as it 

 is of a kin with the legend I will describe it : 



