"Harris, Joel Chandler - Brother Rabbit's Cradle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harris Joel Chandler)

Brother Rabbit's Cradle, by Joel Chandler HarrisThe Naked Word electronic
edition of....
Brother Rabbit's Cradle
by Joel Chandler Harris



"I WISH you'd tell me what you tote a hankcher fer," remarked Uncle Remus, after
he had reflected over the matter a little while.
"Why, to keep my mouth clean," answered the little boy. Uncle Remus looked at
the lad, and shook his head doubtfully. "Uh-uh!" he exclaimed. "You can't fool
folks when dey git ez ol' ez what I is. I been watchin' you now mo' days dan I
kin count, an' I ain't never see yo' mouf dirty 'nuff fer ter be wiped wid a
hankcher. It's allers clean— too clean fer ter suit me. Dar's yo' pa, now; when
he wuz a little chap like you, his mouf useter git dirty in de mornin' an' stay
dirty plum twel night. Dey wa'n't sca'cely a day dat he didn't look like he been
playin' wid de pigs in de stable lot. Ef he yever is tote a hankcher, he ain't
never show it ter me."
"He carries one now," remarked the little boy with something like a triumphant
look on his face.
"Tooby sho'," said Uncle: Remus; "tooby sho' he do. He start ter totin' one when
he tuck an' tuck a notion fer ter go a-courtin'. It had his name in one cornder,
an' he useter sprinkle it wid stuff out'n a pepper-sauce bottle. It sho' wuz
rank, dat stuff wuz; it smell so sweet it make you fergit whar you live at. I
take notice dat you ain't got none on yone."
"No; mother says that cologne or any kind of perfumery on your handkerchief
makes you common."
Uncle Remus leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and permitted a heartrending
groan to issue from his lips. The little boy showed enough anxiety to ask him
what the matter was. "Nothin' much, honey; I wuz des tryin' fer ter count how
many diffunt kinder people dey is in dis big worl', an' 'fo' I got mo' dan half
done wid my countin', a pain struck me in my mizry, an' I had ter break off."
"I know what you mean," said the child. "You think mother is queer; grandmother
thinks so too."
"How come you to be so wise, honey?" Uncle Remus inquired, opening his eyes wide
with astonishment.
"I know by the way you talk, and by the way grandmother looks sometimes,"
answered the little boy.
Uncle Remus said nothing for some time. When he did speak, it was to lead the
little boy to believe that he had been all the time engaged in thinking about
something else. "Talkin' er dirty folks," he said, "you oughter seed yo' pa when
he wuz a little bit er chap. Dey wuz long days when you couldn't tell ef he wuz
black er white, he wuz dat dirty. He'd come out'n de big house in de mornin' ez
clean ez a new pin, an' 'fo' ten er-clock you couldn't tell what kinder clof his
cloze wuz made out'n. Many's de day when I've seed ol' Miss— dat's yo'
great-gran'mammy— comb 'nuff trash out'n his head fer ter fill a basket."
The little boy laughed at the picture that Uncle Remus drew of his father. "He's
very clean, now," said the lad loyally.
"Maybe he is an' maybe he ain't," remarked Uncle Remus, suggesting a doubt.
"Dat's needer here ner dar. Is he any better off clean dan what he wuz when you