NIGHTS WITH UNCLE REMUS 
’T wa’n’t long ’fo’ he come ter de house whar de light is, en, bless 
you soul, he don’t make no bones er knockin’. Den somebody 
holler out: — 
“‘Who dat?’ 
“‘I’m Mr. Benjermun Ram, en I done lose de way, en I come 
fer ter ax you ef you can’t take me in fer de night,’ sezee. 
“In common,” continued Uncle Remus, “ole Mr. Benjermun 
Ram wuz a mighty rough-en-spoken somebody, but you better 
b’leeve he talk monst’us perlite dis time. 
“Den some un on t’er side er de do’ ax Mr. Benjermun Ram fer 
ter walk right in, en wid dat he open de do’ en walk in, en make 
a bow like fiddlin’ folks does w’en dey goes in comp’ny; but he 
ain’t no sooner make he bow en look ’roun’ twel he ’gun ter shake 
en shiver lak he done bin strucken wid de swamp-ager, kaze, set- 
tin’ right dar ’fo’ de fier wuz ole Brer Wolf, wid his toofies showin’ 
up all w’ite en shiny like dey wuz bran new. Ef ole Mr. Benjer¬ 
mun Ram ain’t bin so ole en stiff I boun’ you he’d er broke en 
run, but ’mos’ ’fo’ he had time fer ter study ’bout gittin’ ’way, ole 
Brer Wolf done bin jump up en shet de do’ en fassen ’er wid a great 
big chain. Ole Mr. Benjermun Ram he know he in fer’t, en he 
tuck’n put on a bol’ face ez he kin, but he des nat’ally hone 1 fer 
ter be los’ in de woods some mo’. Den he make n’er low bow, en 
he hope Brer Wolf and all his folks is well, en den he say, sezee, 
dat he des drap in fer ter worn hisse’f, en ’quire uv de way ter Miss 
Meadows’, en ef Brer Wolf be so good ez ter set ’im in de road 
ag’in, he be off putty soon en be much ’blige in de bargains. 
“‘Tooby sho’, Mr. Ram,’ sez Brer Wolf, sezee, w’iles he lick he 
chops en grin; ‘des put yo’ walkin’-cane in de cornder over dar, 
en set yo’ bag down on de flo’, en make yo’se’f at home,’ sezee. 
‘We ain’t got much,’ sezee, ‘but w’at we is got is yone w’iles you 
stays, en I boun’ we’ll take good keer un you,’ sezee; en wid dat 
1 To pine or long for anything. This is a good old English word, which has been 
retained in the plantation vocabulary. 
38 
