"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."
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 ain't done up'n tell it. I 'speck it done wuk loose fum Brer Jack 'membunce."
"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 ain't de tale en de tale ain't me, den how come you wanter take'n rake me over de coals fer?"
"Well, Uncle Remus, you know what you said. You said that was the end of Brother Wolf."
"I bleedz ter 'spute dat," exclaimed Uncle Remus, with the air of one performing a painful duty; "I bleedz ter 'spute it. Dat w'at de tale say. Ole Remus is one nigger en de tale, hit's a n'er nigger. Yit I ain't got no time fer ter set back yer en fetch out de oggyments."