THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS 
exclamation of delight. The child’s mother gave Uncle Remus a 
shawl to wrap around the child, and this shawl was the cause of 
considerable trouble, for the youngster persisted in wrapping it 
around the old man’s head, and so blinding him that there was 
danger of his falling. Finally, he put the little boy down, took off 
his hat, raised his right hand, and said: — 
“Now, den, I bin a-beggin’ un you fer ter quit yo’ ’haveishness 
des long ez I’m a-gwinter, en I ain’t gwine beg you no mo’, ’kaze 
I’m des teetotally wo’ out wid beggin’, en de mo’ I begs de wuss 
you gits. Now I’m done! You des go yo’ ways en I ’ll go mine, en 
my way lays right spang back ter de big house whar Miss Sally 
is. Dat’s whar I’m a-gwine!” 
Uncle Remus started to the house with an exaggerated vigor 
of movement comical to behold; but, however comical it may 
have been, it had its effect. The little boy ran after him, caught 
him by the hand, and made him stop. 
“ Now, Uncle Remus, please don’t go back. I was just playing.” 
Uncle Remus’s anger was all pretence, but he managed to make 
it very impressive. 
“My playin’ days done gone too long ter talk bout. When I 
plays, I plays wid wuk, dat w’at I plays wid.” 
“Well,” said the child, who had tactics of his own, “if I can’t 
play with you, I don’t know who I am to play with.” 
This touched Uncle Remus in a very tender spot. He stopped 
in the path, took off his spectacles, wiped the glasses on his coat¬ 
tail, and said very emphatically: — 
“Now den, honey, des lissen at me. How de name er goodness 
kin you call dat playin’, w’ich er little mo’ en I’d er fell down on 
top er my head, en broke my neck en yone too? 
The child promised that he would be very good, and Uncle 
Remus picked him up, and the two made their way to where the 
negroes had congregated. They were greeted with cries of “ Dar’s 
UnkRemus!” “Howdy,UnkRemus!” “Yerdeyis!” “Oleman 
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