NIGHTS WITH UNCLE REMUS 
bit rush off ter de cotton-patch en put some lint on it, en down ter 
dis day dat lint mos’ de fus’ t’ing you see w’en Brer Rabbit jump 
out’n he bed en tell you good-bye.” 
“But, Uncle Remus, what became of Brother ’Possum?” 
Uncle Remus smacked his lips and looked wise. 
“Don’t talk ’bout Brer ’Possum, honey, ef dat ar Mr. Man 
wuz nice folks lak we all is, en I ain’t ’spute it, he tuck’n tuck Brer 
’Possum en bobbycue ’im, en I wish I had a great big piece right 
now. Dat I does.” 
XXXIII 
WHY THE GUINEA-FOWLS ARE SPECKLED 
One night, while the little boy was watching Uncle Remus broil 
a piece of bacon on the coals, he heard a great commotion among 
the guinea-fowls. The squawking and pot-racking went on at such 
a rate that the geese awoke and began to scream, and finally the 
dogs added their various voices to the uproar. Uncle Remus 
leaned back in his chair and listened. 
“I ’speck may be dat’s de patter-rollers gwine by,” he said, 
after a while. “But you can’t put no ’pen’unce in dem ar Guinny- 
hins, ’kaze dey’ll wake up en holler ef dey year deyse’f sno’. 
Dey’ll fool you, sho’.” 
“They are mighty funny, anyhow,” said the little boy. 
“Dat’s it!” exclaimed Uncle Remus. “Dey looks quare, en 
dey does quare. Dey ain’t do lak no yuther kinder chick’n, en 
dey ain’t look lak no yuther kinder chick’n. Yit folks tell me,” 
the old man went on, reflectively, “dat dey er heap mo’ kuse 
lookin’ now dan w’at dey use’ ter be. I year tell dat dey wuz one 
time w’en dey wuz all blue, ’stid er havin’ all dem ar teenchy little 
spots on um.” 
“ Well, how did they get to be speckled, Uncle Remus?” asked 
162 
