Page:The International Folk-Lore Congress of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, July, 1893.djvu/405

Rh en Sooloo say 'gin, 'Wuts de matter?' Somebody er callin' me 't house,' de rabbit spon' 'You better go see w'ut de matter.' Wen de rabbit come back dis time dar wan no mo' butter in de pail 't all but cose 'Sooloo didn' know de rabbit don clean de bottom. Dis time Sooloo say 'gin, 'W'ut waz de matter,' en de rabbit he say, 'My wife got er little one,' w'en Sooloo ax,'Wut he name?' de rabbit say, 'Cleanbottom.'

"Dat night w'en he en Sooloo come home dey fine dar ain' no butter 't all in de pail en dey wuz bofe dat sus-spr-i' -s' -d. Den dey cunsult'd tergedder es ter who could er bin dar ter do sech er outdacious ac'. De rabbit he up and say, 'Sholy 't wan' you, Sooloo, en I know 't wan' me, but dars er way ter prove hit, sez ee. We'll bull' er big fire en lay down clost ter 't en it'll skew de grease out'n de one w'ut done tek dat butter.'

"So dey collect'd some light wood en mek er fire en bofe uv'm stretched dey se'fs out befo't. Now Sooloo he wuz er fambly man en he wuk hard all de day long, but de rabbit he ain' sted'n bout wuk 't 'all, Sooloo wuz ti'de but rabbit wan' so Sooloo wen' sleep but de rabbit did'n. He jes lay dar think'n twell de fire done draw all de grease out'n 'im sho nough den he got up 'n rub hit all over Sooloo who wuz sleep en not spicionin' nothin'.

"Now all uv er sud'n he call Sooloo en dar he wuz all kiver'd wid de grease. Sooloo, cose he know'd he ain' eat dat butter so he up en run de rabbit twell he hop in er holler tree en dar Sooloo cotch 'm by de hine laig. Den de rabbit he holler, 'Oh, please Brer, Sooloo, doan kill me in de bri'r patch, do anythin' 't all but cep'n tho me in de bri'r patch.' Den dat de berry thin' dat Sooloo done, he heave 'm right in de bri'r patch sho nough. Wel-l-suz, dat rabbit he jes holler en laf-f 'Oh brer Sooloo, dis de berry place I wuz bon'd in, dis de berry place I wuz bon'd in.' Uv cose Sooloo couldn' ketch 'm no ways, de rabbit he's heap smart'r nor w'ut de udder beastis is."—Here old Cuffy laughed until the tears came into his eyes thinking of the rabbit's "butter scrape' as he called it.

This legend, as a whole, is unlike any of those I have seen. It has several features peculiarly its own, but the allusion to