o fall back upon in case of an
emergency, "leas'ways, hit 'uz de las' er dat Brer Wolf."

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FOOTNOTE:

[10] Compliments.
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IX

MR. BENJAMIN RAM AND HIS WONDERFUL FIDDLE

"I 'speck you done year tell er ole man Benjermun Ram," said Uncle
Remus, with a great affectation of indifference, after a pause.

"Old man who?" asked the little boy.

"Ole man Benjermun Ram. I 'speck you done year tell er him too long 'go
ter talk 'bout."

"Why, no, I have n't, Uncle Remus!" exclaimed the little boy, protesting
and laughing. "He must have been a mighty funny old man."

"Dat 's ez may be," responded Uncle Remus, sententiously. "Fun deze days
would n't er counted fer fun in dem days; en many's de time w'at I see
folks laughin'," continued the old man, with such withering sarcasm that
the little boy immediately became serious,--"many's de time w'at I sees
um laughin' en laughin', w'en I lay dey aint kin tell w'at deyer
laughin' at deyse'f. En 'taint der laughin' w'at pesters me,
nudder,"--relenting a little,--"hit 's dish yer ev'lastin' snickle en
giggle, giggle en snickle."

Having thus mapped out, in a dim and uncertain way, what older people
than the little boy might have been excused for accepting as a sort of
moral basis, Uncle Remus proceeded:

"Dish yer Mr. Benjermun Ram, w'ich he done come up inter my min', wuz
one er dezeyer ole-timers. Dey tells me dat he 'uz a fiddler fum away
back yander--one er dem ar kinder fiddlers w'at can't git de chune down
fine 'less dey pats der foot. He stay all by he own-alone se'f way out
in de middle un a big new-groun', en he sech a handy man fer ter have at
a frolic dat de yuther creeturs like 'im mighty well, en w'en dey tuck a
notion fer ter shake der foot, w'ich de notion tuck'n struck um eve'y
once in a w'ile, nuthin' 'ud do but dey mus' sen' fer ole man Benjermun
Ram en he fiddle; en dey do say," continued Uncle Remus, closing his
eyes in a sort of ecstasy, "dat w'en he squar' hisse'f back in a cheer,
en git in a weavin' way, he kin des snatch dem ole-time chunes fum who
lay de rail.[11] En den, w'en de frolic wuz done, dey'd all fling in, dem
yuther creeturs would, en fill up a bag er peas fer ole Mr. Benjermun
Ram fer ter kyar home wid 'im.

"One time, des 'bout Christmas, Miss Meadows en Miss Motts en de gals,
dey up'n