C159. Brother Rabbit and Miss Nancy

16. Brother Rabbit and Miss Nancy. Text Source: Told by Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris. Online at Project Gutenberg. I removed the frame material and standardized the spelling; click here for the original spelling plus all notes to

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BRER RABBIT and MISS NANCY

Brer Rabbit was a heap bigger in them days than what he is now. It looks like the family done run to seed, and I bet you that ninety-nine thousand year from this very day, the Rabbit crowd won't be bigger than field-mice—I bet you that. He weren't only bigger, but he was mighty handy about a farm, when he took a notion, specially if Mr. Man had any greens in his truck-patch. Well, one time, times was so hard that he had to hire out for his vittles and clothes. He had the idea that he was getting a mighty heap for the work he done, and Mr. Man tell his daughter that he getting Brer Rabbit mighty cheap. They was both satisfied, and when that's the case, everybody else ought to be satisfied. Brer Rabbit can hoe taters, and chop cotton, and fetch up brushwood, and split the kindling, and do right smart.

He say to hisself, Brer Rabbit did, that if he ain't getting no money and mighty few clothes, he bound he'd have a plenty vittles. The first week or two, he ain't cut up no shines; he was getting used to the place. He stuck to his work right straight along till Mr. Man say he one of the best hands on the whole place, and he tell his daughter that she better sat her cap for Brer Rabbit. The gal she toss her head and make a mouth, but all the same she begun to cast sheep eyes at him.

One fine day, when the sun shining mighty hot, Brer Rabbit begun to get mighty hungry. He say he want some water. Mr. Man say, "There the bucket, and yonder the spring. Everything fix so you can get water monstrous easy."

Brer Rabbit get the water, but still there was a gnawing in his stomach, and by and by he say he want some bread. Mr. Man say, "It ain't been so mighty long sense you had breakfast, but no matter about that. Yonder's the house, in the house you'll find my daughter, and she'll give you what bread you want."

With that Brer Rabbit put out for the house, and there he find the gal. She say, "Lord, Brer Rabbit, you ought to be at work, but instead of that here you is at the house. I hear pap say that you are mighty good worker, but if this the way you does you work, I don't know what make him say so."

Brer Rabbit say, "I'm here, Miss Nancy, 'cause you daddy sent me."

Miss Nancy allow, "Ain't you ashamed of yourself for to talk that a-way? You know pap ain't sent you."

Brer Rabbit say, "Yes ma'am, he did," and then he smiled one of these here lopsided smiles. 

Miss Nancy kind of hang her head and allow, "Stop looking at me so brazen."

Brer Rabbit stood there with his eyes shut, and he ain't say nothing. 

Miss Nancy say, "Is you gone to sleep? You ought to be ashamed for to drop off that a-way where there's ladies."

Brer Rabbit make a bow, he did, and allow, "You told me not to look at you, and if I ain't to look at you, I just as well to keep my eyes shut."

The gal she giggle and say Brer Rabbit oughtn't to make fun of her right before her face and eyes. She ask what her pap sent him for, and he allow that Mr. Man sent him for a dollar and a half, and some bread and butter. Miss Nancy say she don't believe him, and with that she run down towards the field where her pa was working and hollow at him—"Pap! Oh, pap!" Mr. Man make answer, "Hey?" and the gal say, "Is you say what Brer Rabbit say you say?' Mr. Man he holler back that that's just what he say, and Miss Nancy she run back to their house, and give Brer Rabbit a dollar and a half and some bread and butter.

Time passed, and every once in a while Brer Rabbit'd go to the house enduring the day, and tell Miss Nancy that her daddy say for to give him money and some bread and butter. And the gal, she'd go part of the way to where Mr. Man is working, and holler and ask if he say so, and Mr. Man'd holler back, "Yes, honey, that what I say." 

It got so after while that there ain't so mighty much money in the house, and about that time, Miss Nancy, she had a beau, which he used to come to see her every Sunday, and sometimes Saturday, and it got so, after while, that she won't scarcely look at Brer Rabbit.

This make him laugh, and he kind of studied how he going to get even with 'em, 'cause the beau got to flinging his sass round Brer Rabbit, and the gal, she'd giggle, as gals will. But Brer Rabbit just sat there, he did, and chew his tobacco, and spit in the fire. 

But one day Mr. Man hear him talking to hisself whiles they are working in the same field, and he ask Brer Rabbit what he say. Brer Rabbit allow that he just trying for to learn a speech what he hear a little bird say, and with that he went on digging in the ground just like he don't care whether anything happen or not. But this don't satisfy Mr. Man, and he ask Brer Rabbit what the speech is. Brer Rabbit allow that the way the little bird say it there ain't no sense to it far as he can see. But Mr. Man keep on asking him what it is, and by and by he up and allow, "The beau kiss the gal and call her honey; then he kiss her again, and she give him the money."

Mr. Man say, "Which money?"

Brer Rabbit allow, "You are too much for me. They tells me that money's money, no matter where you get it, or how you get it. If the little bird weren't singing a song, then I'm mighty much mistooken."

But this don't make Mr. Man feel no better than what he been feeling. He went on working, but all the time the speech that the little bird made was running in his mind: 

De beau kiss the gal, and call her honey;

Then he kiss her again, and she give him the money.

He keep on saying it over in his mind, and the more he say it the more it worry him. That night when he went home, the beau was there, and he was more gayly than ever. He flung sass at Brer Rabbit, and Brer Rabbit just sat there and chew his tobacco, and spit in the fire. 

Then Mr. Man went to the place where he keep his money, and he find it most all gone. He come back, he did, and he say, "Where my money?" 

The gal, she ain't want to have no words 'fore her beau, and respond, "You know where it is just as well as I does."

And the man say, "I expect you are right about that, and since I does, I want you to pack up and get right out to this house and take you beau with you."

And so there it was.

The gal, she cry some, but the beau marched her up, and they went off and got married, and Mr. Man took all his things and move off somewheres, I don't know where, and there weren't nobody left in them neighborhoods but me and Brer Rabbit. The gal, she told her chillun about how Brer Rabbit had done her and her pa, and from that time on, they are been pursuing on after him.

(image source)

C159. Baer (p. 146). Brother Rabbit and Miss Nancy

This is Chase159.

Types ATU 1563 Both? asks the boy; "Yes, I said both."
Motifs
K1534.1 Both? asks the boy; "Yes, I said both."
K0362.10 give him what he wants
K0401 blame for theft fastened on dupe
Notes
"This seems to be an Afro-American variant of a pouplar European tale type"

also: "Rabbit remains true to the African trickster model however; he is more interested in food than in sex"
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C159. Brother Rabbit and Miss Nancy (original spelling)

16. Brother Rabbit and Miss Nancy. Text Source: Told by Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris. Online at Project Gutenberg. You can click here for the standardized spelling plus all notes to the story.

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One day, when Uncle Remus had told one of the stories that have already been set forth, the little boy was unusually thoughtful. He had asked his mother whether there was ever a time when the animals acted and talked like people, and she, without reflecting, being a young and an impulsive woman, had answered most emphatically in the negative. Now, this little boy was shrewder than he was given credit for being, and he knew that neither his grandmother nor Uncle Remus would set great store by what his mother said. How he knew this would be difficult to explain, but he knew it all the same. Therefore, when he interjected a doubt as to the truth of the tales, he kept the name of his authority to himself.

“Uncle Remus,” said the little boy, “how do[267] you know that the tales you tell are true? Couldn’t somebody make them up?”

The old man looked at the little child, and knew who had sown the seeds of doubt in his mind, and the knowledge made him groan and shake his head. “Maybe you think I done it, honey, but ef you does, de sooner you fergit it off’n yo’ min’, de better fer you, kaze I’d set here an’ dry up an’ blow way ’fo’ I kin tell a tale er my own make-up; an’ ef dey’s anybody deze days what kin make um up, I’d like fer ter snuggle up ter ’im, an’ ax ’im ter l’arn me how.”

“Do you really believe the animals could talk?” asked the child.

“What diffunce do it make what I b’lieve, honey? Ef dey kin talk in dem days, er ef dey can’t, b’lievin’ er not b’lievin’ ain’t gwineter he’p matters. Ol’ folks what live in dem times dey say de creeturs kin talk, kaze dey done talk wid um, an’ dey tell it ter der chillun an’ der chillun tell it ter der chillun right on down ter deze days. So den what you gwineter do ’bout it—b’lieve dem what had it fum de ol’ folks dat know’d, er[268] dem what ain’t never hear nothin’ ’tall about it twel dey git it second han’ fum a ol’ nigger man?”

The child perceived that Uncle Remus was hitting pretty close to home, as the saying is, and he said nothing for a while. “I haven’t said that I don’t believe them,” he remarked presently.

“Ef you said it, honey, you ain’t say it whar I kin hear you, but I take notice dat you hol’ yo’ head on one side an’ kinder wrinkle yo’ face up when I tell deze tales. Ef you don’t b’lieve um, tain’t no mo’ use fer me ter tell um dan ’tis fer me ter fly.”

“My face always wrinkles when I laugh, Uncle Remus.”

“An’ when you cry,” responded the old man so promptly that the child laughed, though he hardly knew what he was laughing at.

“I’m gwineter tell you one now,” remarked Uncle Remus, wiping a smile from his face with the back of his hand, “an’ you kin take it er leave it, des ez you please. Ef you see anything wrong in it anywhar, you kin p’int it out ez we go ’long.[269] I been tellin’ you dat Brer Rabbit wuz a heap bigger in dem days dan what he is now. It looks like de fambly done run ter seed, an’ I bet you dat ninety-nine thousan’ year fum dis ve’y day, de Rabbit-tum-a-hash crowd won’ be bigger dan fiel’-mice—I bet you dat. He wa’n’t only bigger, but he wuz mighty handy ’bout a farm, when he tuck a notion, speshually ef Mr. Man had any greens in his truck-patch. Well, one time, times wuz so hard dat he hatter hire out fer his vittles an’ cloze. He had de idee dat he wuz gittin’ a mighty heap fer de work he done, an Mr. Man tell his daughter dat he gittin’ Brer Rabbit mighty cheap. Dey wuz bofe satchified, an’ when dat’s de case, eve’ybody else oughter be satchified. Brer Rabbit kin hoe taters, an’ chop cotton, an’ fetch up breshwood, an’ split de kindlin, an’ do right smart.

“He say ter hisse’f, Brer Rabbit did, dat ef he ain’t gittin’ no money an’ mighty few cloze, he boun’ he’d have a plenty vittles. De fust week er two, he ain’t cut up no shines; he wuz gittin’ usen ter de place. He stuck ter his work right[270] straight along twel Mr. Man say he one er de bes’ han’s on de whole place, an’ he tell his daughter dat she better set ’er cap fer Brer Rabbit. De gal she toss her head an’ make a mouf, but all de samey she ’gun ter cas’ sheep eyes at ’im.

“One fine day, when de sun shinin’ mighty hot, Brer Rabbit ’gun ter git mighty hongry. He say he want some water. Mr. Man say, ‘Dar de bucket, an’ yan’ de spring. Eve’ything fix so you kin git water monstus easy.’ Brer Rabbit git de water, but still dey wuz a gnyawin’ in his stomach, an’ bimeby he say he want some bread. Mr. Man say, ’Tain’t been so mighty long sense you had brekkus, but no matter ’bout dat. Yan’s de house, in de house you’ll fin’ my daughter, an’ she’ll gi’ you what bread you want.’

“Wid dat Brer Rabbit put out fer de house, an’ dar he fin’ de gal. She say, ‘La, Brer Rabbit, you oughter be at work, but stidder dat here you is at de house. I hear pap say dat youer mighty good worker, but ef dis de way you does yo’ work, I dunner what make ’im sesso.’ Brer Rabbit say, ‘I’m here, Miss Nancy, kaze yo’ daddy sont[271] me.’ Miss Nancy ’low, ‘Ain’t you ’shame er yo’se’f fer ter talk dat a-way? You know pap ain’t sont you.’ Brer Rabbit say, ‘Yassum, he did,’ an’ den he smole one er deze yer lopsided smiles. Miss Nancy kinder hang ’er head an’ low, ‘Stop lookin’ at me so brazen.’ Brer Rabbit stood dar wid his eyes shot, an’ he ain’t say nothin’. Miss Nancy say, ‘Is you gone ter sleep? You oughter be ’shame fer ter drap off dat a-way whar dey’s ladies.’

“Brer Rabbit make a bow, he did, an’ ’low, ‘You tol’ me not ter look at you, an’ ef I ain’t ter look at you, I des ez well ter keep my eyes shot.’ De gal she giggle an’ say Brer Rabbit oughtn’t ter make fun er her right befo’ her face an’ eyes. She ax what her pap sont ’im fer, an’ he ’low dat Mr. Man sont ’im for a dollar an’ a half, an’ some bread an’ butter. Miss Nancy say she don’t b’lieve ’im, an’ wid dat she run down todes de fiel’ whar her pa wuz workin’ an’ holler at ’im—‘Pap! Oh, pap!’ Mr. Man make answer, ‘Hey?’ an’ de gal say, ‘Is you say what Brer Rabbit say you say?’ Mr. Man he holler back dat dat’s des[272] what he say, an’ Miss Nancy she run back ter der house, an’ gi’ Brer Rabbit a dollar an’ a half an’ some bread an’ butter.

“Time passed, an’ eve’y once in a while Brer Rabbit’d go ter de house endurin’ de day, an’ tell Miss Nancy dat her daddy say fer ter gi’ ’im money an’ some bread an’ butter. An’ de gal, she’d go part er de way ter whar Mr. Man is workin’, an’ holler an’ ax ef he sesso, an’ Mr. Man ’d holler back, ‘Yes, honey, dat what I say.’ It got so atter while dat dey ain’t so mighty much money in de house, an’ ’bout dat time, Miss Nancy, she had a beau, which he useter come ter see her eve’y Sunday, an’ sometimes Sat’day, an’ it got so, atter while, dat she won’t skacely look at Brer Rabbit.


“De beau got ter flingin’ his sass roun’ Brer Rabbit”

“Dis make ’im laugh, an’ he kinder studied how he gwineter git even wid um, kaze de beau got ter flingin’ his sass roun’ Brer Rabbit, an’ de gal, she’d giggle, ez gals will. But Brer Rabbit des sot dar, he did, an’ chaw his terbacker, an’ spit in de fier. But one day Mr. Man hear ’im talkin’ ter hisse’f whiles deyer workin’ in de[273] same fiel’, and he ax Brer Rabbit what he say. Brer Rabbit ’low dat he des try in’ fer ter l’arn a speech what he hear a little bird say, an’ wid dat he went on diggin’ in de groun’ des like he don’t keer whedder anything happen er not. But dis don’t satchify Mr. Man, an’ he ax Brer Rabbit what de speech is. Brer Rabbit ’low dat de way de little bird say it dey ain’t no sense ter it fur ez he kin see. But Mr. Man keep on axin’ ’im what ’tis, an’ bimeby he up an’ ’low, ‘De beau kiss de gal an’ call her honey; den he kiss her ag’in, an’ she gi’ im de money.’

“Mr. Man say, ‘Which money?’ Brer Rabbit ’low, ‘Youer too much fer me. Dey tells me dat money’s money, no matter whar you git it, er how you git it. Ef de little bird wa’n’t singin’ a song, den I’m mighty much mistooken.’ But dis don’ make Mr. Man feel no better dan what he been feelin’. He went on workin’, but all de time de speech dat de little bird made wuz runnin’ in his min’:

“De beau kiss de gal, an’ call her honey;
Den he kiss her ag’in, an’ she gi’ ’im de money.”
[274]

“He keep on sayin’ it over in his min’, an’ de mo’ he say it de mo’ it worry him. Dat night when he went home, de beau wuz dar, an’ he wuz mo’ gayly dan ever. He flung sass at Brer Rabbit, an Brer Rabbit des sot dar an’ chaw his terbacker, an’ spit in de fier. Den Mr. Man went ter de place whar he keep his money, an’ he fin’ it mos’ all gone. He come back, he did, an’ he say, ‘Whar my money?’ De gal, she ain’t wanter have no words ’fo’ her beau, an’ ’spon’, ‘You know whar ’tis des ez well ez I does,’ an’ de man say, ‘I speck youer right ’bout dat, an’ sence I does, I want you ter pack up an’ git right out ter dis house an’ take yo’ beau wid you.’ An’ so dar ’twuz.

“De gal, she cry some, but de beau muched her up, an’ dey went off an’ got married, an’ Mr. Man tuck all his things an’ move off somers, I dunner whar, an’ dey wa’n’t nobody lef’ in dem neighberhoods but me an’ Brer Rabbit.”

“You and Brother Rabbit?” cried the little boy.

[275]

“Dat’s what I said,” replied Uncle Remus. “Me an’ Brer Rabbit. De gal, she tol’ her chillun ’bout how Brer Rabbit had done her an’ her pa, an’ fum dat time on, deyer been persooin’ on atter him.”