BRER FOX MAKES A NARROW ESCAPE 
branches went dry, en all de springs make der disappearance 
’cep’n one great big un whar all de creeturs drunk at. Dey’d all 
meet dar, dey would, en de bigges’ ’ud drink fus’, en by de time 
de big uns all done swaje der thuss 1 dey wa’n’t a drap lef fer de 
little uns skacely. 
“ Co’se Brer Rabbit ’uz on de happy side. Ef anybody gwine 
git water Brer Rabbit de man. De creeturs ’ud see he track 
’roun’ de spring, but dey ain’t nev’ ketch ’im. Hit got so atter 
w’ile dat de big creeturs ’ud crowd Brer Fox out, en den’t wa’n’t 
long ’fo’ he hunt up Brer Rabbit en ax ’im w’at he gwine do. 
“BrerRabbit, he sorter study, en den he up ’n tell Brer Fox fer 
ter go home en rub some ’lasses all on hisse’f en den go out en 
waller in de leafs. Brer Fox ax w’at he mus’ do den, en Brer Rab¬ 
bit say he mus’ go down by de spring, en w’en de creeturs come 
ter de spring fer ter git dey water, he mus’ jump out at um, en den 
atter dat he mus’ waller lak he one er dem ar kinder varment w’at 
got bugs on um. 
“Brer Fox, he put out fer home, he did, en w’en he git dar he 
run ter de cubbud 2 en des gawm hisse’f wid ’lasses, en den he 
went out in de bushes, he did, en waller in de leafs en trash twel 
he look mos’ bad ez Brer Rabbit look w’en he play Wull-er-de- 
Wust on de creeturs. 
“W’en Brer Fox git hisse’f all fix up, he went down ter de 
spring en hide hisse’f. Bimeby all de creeturs come atter der 
water, en w’iles dey ’uz a-scuffin’ en a-hunchin’, en a-pushin’ en 
a-scrougin’, Brer Fox he jump out’n de bushes, en sorter switch 
hisse’f ’roun’, en, bless yo’ soul, he look lak de Ole Boy. 
“Brer Wolf tuck’n see ’im fus’, en he jump spang over Brer 
B’ar head. Brer B’ar, he lip back, en ax who dat, en des time he 
do dis de t’er creeturs dey tuck’n make a break, dey did, lak 
punkins rollin’ down hill, en mos’ ’fo’ youk’n wink yo’ eye-ball. 
Brer Fox had de range er de spring all by hisse’f. 
1 Assuaged their thirst. 2 Cupboard. 
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