WHY GUINEA-FOWLS ARE SPECKLED 
the little boy, seeing that the old man was disposed to leave the 
subject and devote his attention to his broiling bacon. 
Uncle Remus did not respond at once. He turned his meat over 
carefully, watched it a little while, and then adroitly transferred 
it to the cover of a tin bucket, which was made to answer the pur¬ 
pose of a plate. Then he searched about in the embers until he 
found his ash-cake, and in a little while his supper was ready to be 
eaten. 
“I ain’t begrudgin’ nobody nothin’,” said Uncle Remus, meas¬ 
uring the victuals with his eye; “yit I’m monst’us glad Brer Jack 
ain’t nowhar’s ’roun’, ’kaze dey ain’t no tellin’ de gawm dat ole 
nigger kin eat. He look shaky, en he look dry up, en he ain’t got 
no toof, yit w’ence he set hisse’f down whar dey any vittles, he 
des nat’ally laps hit up. En let ’lone dat, he ull wipe he mouf en 
look’ roun’ des lak he want mo’. Time Miss Sally see dat ole nigger 
eat one meal er vittles, I boun’ you he hatter go back down de 
country. I ain’t begrudgin’ Brer Jack de vittles,” Uncle Remus 
went on, adopting a more conciliatory tone, “dat I ain’t, ’kaze 
folks is got ter eat; but, gentermens! you be ’stonish’ w’en you see 
Brer Jack ’pesterin’ ’long er he dinner.” 
The little boy sat quiet awhile, and then reminded Uncle Remus 
of the guinea-fowls. 
“Tooby sho’, honey, tooby sho’! W’at I doin’ runnin’ on dis- 
a-way ’bout ole Brer Jack? W’at he done ter me? Yer I is gwine 
on ’bout ole Brer Jack, en dem ar Guinny-hins out dar waitin’. 
Well, den, one day Sis Cow wuz a-grazin’ ’bout in de ole fiel’ en 
lookin’ atter her calf. De wedder wuz kinder hot, en de calf, he 
tuck’n stan’, he did, in he mammy shadder, so he kin keep cool, en 
so dat one flip un he mammy tail kin keep the flies off’n bofe un 
um. Atter w’ile, ’long come a drove er Guinnies. De Guinnies, 
dey howdied, en Sis Cow, she howdied, en de Guinnies, dey sorter 
picked ’roun’ en sun deyse’f; en Sis Cow, she crap de grass en ax 
um de news er de neighborhoods. Dey went on dis a-way twel 
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