sho'ly dead, Brer Wolf! Nail 'er, Brer Wolf! Bite 'er! gnyaw
'er!'

"Brer Wolf keep on bitin', en Big-Money keep on movin' off. Bimeby, she
git ter de bank er de river, en she fall in--_cumberjoom!_--en dat 'uz
de las' er Brer Wolf."

"What did Brother Rabbit do?" the little boy asked, after a while.

"Well," responded Uncle Remus, in the tone of one anxious to dispose of
a disagreeable matter as pleasantly as possible, "you know w'at kinder
man Brer Rabbit is. He des went off some'rs by he own-alone se'f en tuck
a big laugh."

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FOOTNOTES:

[36] Let us; let's; less.

[37] G hard.

[38] Feeble.

[39] Say so.
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XXXVII

BROTHER RABBIT AND THE MOSQUITOES

The next night Daddy Jack was still away when the little boy went to see
Uncle Remus, and the child asked about him.

"Bless yo' soul, honey! don't ax me 'bout Brer Jack. He look lak he
mighty ole en trimbly, but he mighty peart nigger, mon. He look lak he
shufflin' 'long, but dat ole nigger gits over groun', sho'. Forty year
ergo, maybe I mought er kep' up wid 'im, but I let you know Brer Jack is
away 'head er me. He mos' sho'ly is."

"Why, he's older than you are, Uncle Remus!" the child exclaimed.

"Dat w'at I year tell. Seem lak hit mighty kuse, but sho' ez youer bawn
Brer Jack is a heap mo' pearter nigger dan w'at ole Remus is. He little,
yit he mighty hard. Dat 's Brer Jack, up en down."

Uncle Remus paused and reflected a moment. Then he went on:

"Talkin' 'bout Brer Jack put me in min' 'bout a tale w'ich she sho'ly
mus' er happen down dar in dat ar country whar Brer Jack come fum, en it
sorter ketch me in de neighborhoods er de 'stonishment 'kaze he aint
done up'n tell it. I 'speck it done wuk loose fum Brer Jack 'membunce."

"What tale was that, Uncle Remus?"

"Seem lak dat one time w'en eve'ything en eve'ybody was runnin' 'long
des lak dey bin had waggin grease 'pun um, ole Brer Wolf"--

The little boy laughed incredulously and Uncle Remus paused and frowned
heavily.

"Why, Uncle Remus! how did Brother Wolf get away from Mammy-Bammy
Big-Money?"

The old man's frown deepened and his voice was full of anger as he
replied:

"Now, den, is I'm de tale, er is de tale me? Tell me dat! Is I'm de
tale, er is de tale me? Well, den, ef I aint de tale en de tale aint
me, den how come