One night, as the little boy went tripping down the path to Uncle Remus’s cabin, he thought he heard voices on the inside. With a gesture of vexation he paused at the door and listened. If the old man had company, the youngster knew, by experience, that he would get no story that night. He could hear Uncle Remus talking as if carrying on an animated conversation. Presently he crept up to the door, which was ajar, and peeped in. There was nobody in sight but the old darkey, and the little boy went in. Uncle Remus made a great pretense of being astonished.
“Were you just talking to yourself, Uncle Remus?” asked the little boy.
“Yasser,” said the old man with a serious air, “dat des w’at I wuz a-doin’. I done clean fergit myse’f. I year tell dat dem w’at take en talk ’long wid deyse’f dat dey owe de Ole Boy a day’s work. Ef dat de state er de case den he done got my name down on de books, en hit’s all on account er deze yer uppity-biggity niggers w’at come ’long yer little w’ile ago en ax me ter go ’way off yan ter de Spivey place whar Nancy’s Jim gwine ter git married.
“I wuz settin’ yer runnin’ on in my min’,” Uncle Remus continued, “’bout de time w’en Brer Rabbit went a-courtin’. I boun’ you dey ain’t bin no sech courtin’ sence dat day, en dey ain’t gwine ter be no mo’ sech.”
Here Uncle Remus paused and leaned back in his chair, gazing thoughtfully at the rafters. He paused so long that the little boy finally asked him if he couldn’t tell about Brother Rabbit’s wonderful courtship.
“Well, honey,” said the old man, “you haf ter gi’ me time fer to shet my eye-balls en sorter feel ’roun’ ’mongst my reckermembunce atter de wharfo’es en de whatsisnames. Kaze I’m like a broke-down plow-mule: I’ll go ’long ef you lemme take my time, but ef you push me, I’ll stop right in de middle er de row.”
“I can wait until bedtime,” the little boy remarked, “and then I’ll have to go.”
“Dat’s so,” Uncle Remus assented cheerfully, “en bein’ ez dat’s de case, we haf ter be sorter keerful. Lemme go ’roun’ de stumps en over de roots, en git in meller groun’, en den we kin des back right ’long.
“Now den! You done year talk er Miss Meadows en de gals, en ’bout how Brer Rabbit bin gwine dar so much. Well, hit done happen so dat Brer Rabbit wuz tuck wid a-likin’ er one er de gals. Dis make ’im sorter glad at de offstart, but bimeby he ’gun ter git droopy. He laid ’roun’ en sot ’bout, he did, en look like he studyin’ ’bout sump’n ’n’er way off yander.