prung up over night
An' to name whar she sprung f'om ain't polite;
But she spreads 'erself wuss'n me or you,
An' wid on'y one foot to stan' on, too.
An she ain't by er new-come self in dat--
No, she ain't by 'erself in dat.

[Illustration]

THE WIBBLY WABBLY CALF

Cunnin' little donkey-baby--
"Ye-haw! Ye-haw!" What a funny laugh!
Soun' jes like a creaky, cranky
Seesaw--seesaw!
Wasn't nothin' funny roun' dat
We saw--we saw!
'Tel we glimpsed de stagger-gait dat
He saw--he saw!
Brindle strikin' swagger-gait when
She saw--she saw--_her wibbly wabbly calf_!

[Illustration]

Den we j'ined wid Mister Donkey,
"He-haw! He-haw!" How we-all did laugh!
But we laughed at some'h'n' mo' dan
He saw--he saw!
Donkey couldn't see de ears dat
We saw--we saw!
Rabbit lopin' down de road, we
Three saw--three saw!
Wagged his ears an' called him daddy!
"Haw-haw! Haw-haw!" How dat--who dat laugh?
An' de last to see de joke was _wibbly wabbly calf_!

[Illustration]

THE TURKEY-GOBBLER

Ol' Gobbly struts aroun' de stable
An' th'ows out hints o' de rich man's table,
An' he h'ists his tail an' spreads it wide,
To display his cuyus graveyard pride.
But he ain't by 'isself in pride like dat--
But he ain't by 'isself in dat.

[Illustration]

THE CAULIFLOWER

When de cabbage got ambitiom, in a uppish hour
An' lost 'is head an' bu'st into flower
Wid 'is brains outside, an addled, at dat--
He sot 'isself up for a 'ristocrat.
An' he ain't by 'isself in dat, in dat--
An' he ain't by 'isself in dat.

[Illustration]

THE STEPMOTHER

Sis' Dominick follers her brood o' ducks
To de bayou's edge, an' she clucks an' clucks:
'Dis stepmammy job, oh me, oh me!
Ain't all dat it's quacked up to be!"
But she ain't by 'erself in dat, in dat--
But she ain't by 'erself in dat.

[Illustration]

THE FROG

Ol' Br'er Frog ain't much to sing,
But he clairs a log in a single spring,
An' jedgin' 'im by his bigoty ways,
He's clean forgot 'is tadpole days!
But he ain't by 'isself in dat, in dat--
But he ain't by 'isself in dat.

[Illustration]

THE RAT

Br'er Rat in de corn-bin over-fed
An' under-worked, an' now he's dead;
He craved to live lak a bloated chief,
An' now he ain't not