along the big road-it is always the big road in contradistinction to neighbourhood paths and by-paths, called in the vernacular “nigh-cuts" -when he came to a pumpkin-patch. The Irishman had never seen any of this fruit before, and he at once concluded that he had discovered a veritable mare's nest. Making the most of his opportunity, he gathered one of the pumpkins in his arms and went on his way. A pumpkin is an exceedingly awkward thing to carry, and the Irishman had not gone far before he made a misstep, and stumbled. The pumpkin fell to the ground, rolled down the hill into a "brush-heap," and striking against a stump, was broken. The story continues in the dialect: "W'en de punkin roll in de bresh-heap out jump a rabbit; en soon's de I'shmuns see dat, he take atter de rabbit en holler: Kworp, colty! kworp, colty!' but de rabbit, he des flew." The point of this is obvious. If the reader not familiar with plantation life will imagine that the myth-stories of Uncle Remus are told night after night to a little boy by an old Negro who appears to be venerable enough to have lived during the period which he describes who has nothing but pleasant memories of the discipline of slavery and who has all the prejudices of caste and pride of family that were the natural results of the system; if the reader can imagine all this, he will find little difficulty in appreciating and sympathizing with the air of affectionate superiority which Uncle Remus assumes as he proceeds to unfold the mysteries of plantation lore to a little child who is a product of that practical reconstruction which has been going on to some extent since the war in spite of the politicians. J. C. H CONTENTS. PAGE I. UNCLE REMUS INITIATES THE LITTLE BOY II. THE WONDERFUL TAR-BABY STORY III.-WHY MR. POSSUM LOVES PEACE IV. How MR. RABBIT WAS TOO SHARP FOR MR. Fox. ABOUT VI. MR. RABBIT GROSSLY DECEIVES MR. FOX VII.-MR. FOX IS AGAIN VICTIMIZED X.-MR. TERRAPIN APPEARS UPON THE SCENE 16 20 32 40 45 52 59 XV.-MR. FOX GOES A-HUNTING, BUT MR. RABBIT BAGS THE GAME So XVI. OLD MR. RABBIT, HE'S A GOOD FISHERMAN 84 XVII. MR. RABBIT NIBBLES UP THE BUTTER 89 b |