LX 
HOW THE BEAR NURSED THE LITTLE ALLIGATORS 
While the negroes were talking of matters which the little boy 
took little or no interest in, he climbed into Uncle Remus’s lap, 
as he had done a thousand times before. Presently the old man 
groaned, and said: — 
“I be bless ef I know w’at de marter, honey. I dunner whe’er 
I’m a-gittin’ fibble in de lim’s, er whe’er youer outgrowin’ me. 
I lay I ’ll hatter sen’ out en git you a nuss w’at got mo’ strenk 
in dey lim’s dan w’at I is.” 
The child protested that he was n’t very heavy, and that he 
would n’t have any nurse, and the old man was about to forget 
that he had said anything about nurses, when Daddy Jack, who 
seemed to be desirous of appearing good-humored in the presence 
of ’Tildy, suddenly exclaimed: — 
“Me bin yeddy one tale ’bout da tarn w’en da lil Bear is bin 
nuss da ’Gator chilluns. ’E bin mek fine nuss fer true. ’E stan’ 
by dem lilly ’Gator tel dey no mo’ fer stan’ by.” 
Seeing that Daddy Jack manifested symptoms of going to 
sleep, the little boy asked if he would n’t tell the story, and, thus 
appealed to, the old African began: — 
“One tarn dey is bin one ole Bear; ’e big un ’e strong. ’E lif 
way in da swamp; ’e hab nes’ in da holler tree. ’E hab one, two 
lilly Bear in da nes’; ’e bin lub dem chillun berry ha’d. One day, 
’e git honkry; ’e tell ’e chillun ’e gwan ’way off fer git-a some bittle 
fer eat; ’e tell dem dey mus’ be good chillun un stay wey dey lif. 
’E say ’e gwan fer fetch dem one fish fer dey brekwus. Dun ’e 
gone off. 
“Da lil Bear chillun hab bin ’sleep till dey kin sleep no mo’. 
231 
