NIGHTS WITH UNCLE REMUS 
After a while Uncle Remus closed his door, laid away his tools, 
and drew his chair in front of the wide hearth. The child went 
and stood beside him, leaning his head against the old negro’s 
shoulder, and the two — old age and youth, one living in the 
Past and the other looking forward only to the Future — gazed 
into the bed of glowing embers illuminated by a thin, flickering 
flame. Probably they saw nothing there, each being busy with 
his own simple thoughts; but their shadows, enlarged out of all 
proportion, and looking over their shoulders from the wall behind 
them, must have seen something, for, clinging together, they 
kept up a most incessant pantomime; and Plato’s horn, which 
sounded again to call the negroes to supper after their journey, 
though it aroused Uncle Remus and the child from the contem¬ 
plation of the fire, had no perceptible effect upon the Shadows. 
“Dar go de vittles!” said Uncle Remus, straightening himself. 
“Dey tells me dat dem ar niggers on de River place got appetite 
same ez a mule. Let ’lone de vittles w’at dey gits from Mars 
John, dey eats oodles en oodles er fish. Ole man Plato say dat de 
nigger on de River place w’at ain’t got a fish-baskit in de river er 
some intruss 1 in a fish-trap ain’t no ’count w’atsomever.” 
Here Uncle Remus suddenly slapped himself upon the leg, and 
laughed uproariously; and when the little boy asked him what 
the matter was, he cried out: — 
“Well, sir! Ef I ain’t de fergittenest ole nigger twix’ dis en 
Phillimerdelphy! Yer’t is mos’ Chris’mus en I ain’t tell you 
’bout how Brer Rabbit do Brer Fox w’ence dey bofe un um live on 
de river. I dunner w’at de name er sense gittin’ de marter ’long 
wid me.” 
Of course the little boy wanted to know all about it, and Uncle 
Remus proceeded: — 
“One time Brer Fox en Brer Rabbit live de on river. Atter 
dey bin livin’ dar so long a time, Brer Fox ’low dat he got a mighty 
1 Interest. 
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