ied the moral:--

"Dat w'at Brer Fox git fer playin' Mr. Smarty en copyin' atter yuther
foks, en dat des de way de whole Smarty fambly gwine ter come out."

FOOTNOTES:

[3] _Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings_, p. 70 (New York: D.
Appleton & Co.).

[4] Disease.

V

BRER RABBIT'S ASTONISHING PRANK

"I 'speck dat 'uz de reas'n w'at make ole Brer Rabbit git 'long so well,
kaze he ain't copy atter none er de yuther creeturs," Uncle Remus
continued, after a while. "Wen he make his disappearance 'fo' um, hit
'uz allers in some bran new place. Dey ain't know wharbouts fer ter
watch out fer 'im. He wuz de funniest creetur er de whole gang. Some
folks moughter call him lucky, en yit, w'en he git in bad luck, hit look
lak he mos' allers come out on top. Hit look mighty kuse now, but 't
wa'n't kuse in dem days, kaze hit 'uz done gun up dat, strike 'im w'en
you might en whar you would, Brer Rabbit wuz de soopless creetur gwine.

"One time, he sorter tuck a notion, ole Brer Rabbit did, dat he'd pay
Brer B'ar a call, en no sooner do de notion strike 'im dan he pick
hisse'f up en put out fer Brer B'ar house."

"Why, I thought they were mad with each other," the little boy
exclaimed.

"Brer Rabbit make he call w'en Brer B'ar en his fambly wuz off fum
home," Uncle Remus explained, with a chuckle which was in the nature of
a hearty tribute to the crafty judgment of Brother Rabbit.

"He sot down by de road, en he see um go by,--ole Brer B'ar en ole Miss
B'ar, en der two twin-chilluns, w'ich one un um wuz name Kubs en de t'er
one wuz name Klibs."

The little boy laughed, but the severe seriousness of Uncle Remus would
have served for a study, as he continued:--

"Ole Brer B'ar en Miss B'ar, dey went 'long ahead, en Kubs en Klibs, dey
come shufflin' en scramblin' 'long behime. W'en Brer Rabbit see dis, he
say ter hisse'f dat he 'speck he better go see how Brer B'ar gittin' on;
en off he put. En 't wa'n't long n'er 'fo' he 'uz ransackin' de
premmuses same like he 'uz sho' 'nuff patter-roller. Wiles he wuz gwine
'roun' peepin' in yer en pokin' in dar, he got ter foolin' 'mong de
shelfs, en a bucket er honey w'at Brer B'ar got hid in de cubbud fall
down en spill on top er Brer Rabbit, en little mo'n he'd er bin drown.
Fum head ter heels dat creetur wuz kiver'd wid honey; he wa'n't des only
bedobble wid it, he wuz des kiver'd. He hatter set dar en let de natal
sweetness drip outen he eyeballs 'fo' he kin see he ha