Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/280

 26S Joicrual of American Folk-Lore.

92. Don't drink water out of a bucket carried on a child's head ; to do so will stop it from growing.

CATS AND MICE.

93. It is very bad luck to kill a cat.

94. If a strange cat comes to the house, it is a sign of good luck.

95. To "move a cat," that is, to take a cat away with you, is bad luck. Negroes never move a cat.

96. A cat will suck a child's breath, and one must not be allowed to sleep in the same room with children.

97. It is bad luck to have a cat sleep in bed with you. A negro told me that one night a cat almost drew all his breath away.

98. A black cat without a single white hair on it is said to be a witch. No negro will keep a pure black cat in his house.

99. If you rub the hair of a black cat in the night, you will see the fire it has brought from hell.

100. Never give a black cat away, but lend it.

1 01. If you kill a mouse, the others will gnaw your clothes ; if you shoot one with a gun, their friends will overrun the house and drive you from it. Mice are cats' food.

102. If a mouse eats a hole in a garment, and you darn it, you will have seven years bad luck ; to avoid this, you must make a square patch.

SNAKES.

103. It is good luck to kill the first snake seen in the spring.

104. If you find a snake in the yard about the house, kill him and then burn him. No mouse will come about the house.

105. Negroes believe that a black snake sucks cows.

106. Negroes will not kill a king-snake, as he is the enemy of rattlesnakes and other poisonous snakes.

�� �