Culture
Folktales
My Favorite Stories Told by Mama
The Tar Baby
One time this man had a nice fiel’ with watermelon, corn, sweet potato, errything. He keep missin’ things out the fiel’, goin’ on fah several years, keep amissin’. He rig up a plan to make wun tar baby and put in the fiel’. He out dress on her, hat with bow, handbag, erry thing.
Up come B’Bookie and see what he tink is a pretty gal. “Morning Miss,” he say.
Tar Baby don answer. “Morning I say.”
Uncle Remus - His Songs and His Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris – Illustrations by A. B. Frost D. Appelton and Company, New York 1917B’Bookie say: “You mussy think you cute. Bet I slap you.” So, he slap the Tar Baby. He han’ stick. “Now you see,” B’Bookie say, “you wan’ play hard to get. You better look out for dis odder hand. If I struck you with this you will see sometin.” He trow dat hand and dat stick.
“Gal, I is man and I don’ play. Lemme hand go before I kick ya.” He kick and dat foot stick. Dis his las’ foot. He say, “I ga give you one last chance to let dis heah foot go.” He kick again then he cayn move and the man and the frens come and dey catch him. The man ask his friend, “What we go do with B’Bookie? Skin him or boil him?”
B’Bookie say, “yinna could boil me or skin me but don’ throw me in the brian patch.” When the man hear this he say to he friends, “B’Bookie fraid uh the brian patch.” So he throw him there.
When he do that B’Bookie wriggle out the briar patch and run. He laugh and tell the man. “I was born and raised in the briar patch, it ain’t do me nuttin.”
B’Bookie Go Courtnin’
When they start off B’Rabbie say he “take with a pain in he belly.” He say, “B’Bookie, man, you hafta carry me far as the gate. You is my frien’.”
After he get on he back, he say, “Man I could fall down. Put a small piece o’rope in yer mouth so I could keep myself up on ya.” He did tell the gyal dat dat was his fadder cart horse. Den he axe B’Bookie fir a small switch to hole in he han to make him feel better. B’Bookie couldn’t fin no switch, but he fin a nice piece of wood. When they get ter the gate, B’Bookie say, “jump off now.”
B’Rabbie say, “No man, cyarry me inside da gate.” When he get inside B’Bookie break off runnin’ upside der house. B’Rabbie hail der gyal an tell her, “See, en I tell yer dis was muh fadder ol cyart horse?”
When B’Bookie hear dat he take the piece of wood and beat B’Rabbie all the way back to Mastic Point.
Keg of Butter
One day B’Bookie and B’Rabbie get a job to cut one fiel’ for one man who pay them a keg o butter.
Soon as they start work, B’Rabbie gone up in one tree e say, “Hello, hello, what you say?”
B’Bookie say, ”What that B’Rabbie?”
He say, “Some people call me to stand God fadder but I ain’t won’t stand no Godfather,”
B’Bookie say, “What, you don’ want stand no Godfadder? Man I wish it was me. Man go stand Godfadder.” Nobody was calling. B’Rabbie only wanted a chance to eat some butter.
When he come back B’Bookie ask him, “What the baby name?”
He say, “Begin um.”
They work some more then he gone in the tree again and say, “Hello, what you sayin’ again?” B’Bookie say, “What that Rabbie?”
B’Rabbie say, “Dem old people want me to stand God fadder again.”
B’Bookie say, “Never mind go ‘head.”
B’Rabbie went and eat half the keg of butter. When he come back B’Bookie say, “What the baby name?”
He said, “Brother half done.”
B’Raabbie do the same thing again. As soon as he come back, B’Bookie say, “What the baby name?”
B’Rabbie say, “Brother all done.”
B’Rabbie eat all of the butter and fill the cag with sand and put a little butter over it. B’Rabbie say, “Man it time to knock off.”
B’Bookie say, “Let’s go get we belly full of butter then go home.”
When they get there, B’Rabbie say, “You share ‘em, I tired from all that walking.”
When B’Bookie dip the butter up, nothing but sand. B’Rabbie say, “Aha, you used to come here and eat the butter when I stand God fadder.”
B’Bookie say, “No it’s you Rabbie.”
B’Rabbie say, “Ok, you wan’ test who eat the butter. Let the two o’ us lay down in the sun e sleep; the one who have grease on dey belly is the one who eat the butter.” Soon as they lay down, B’Rabbie start to snore like he was sleeping.
Poor B’Bookie was so tired ‘cause he do all the work, he fall right off to sleep. Then B’Rabbie take all the butter off his belly and put it on B’Bookie own.
When B’Bookie wake up, B’Rabbie say, “Ent I say you eat the butter!”
B’Bookie say, “is you.”
B’Rabbie say, “you too like to lie.” He get one stick and beat B’Bookie all the way home.
How Fowl and Cockroach Friendship Break Up
Old stories not only explored complicated human relationships, but they also examined the natural and animal world.
There was a time when the cockroach and fowl used to be friends. One time all B’Roach family died out so he went and stayed with B’Fowl. Erry day B’Fowl went out scratching for sometin’ to eat. B’Roach stayed home playin sick. Well one day more’n all, wha’ you think B’Roach do? He gone an’ gadder up a heap of odder roach an’ make dance in B’Fowl house. He get one roach to play fiddle while Fowl out working. Da old roach now pulling the fiddy say he gat Fowl fool fool. B’Fowl now come in evenin’ time Roach them wheeling and turning and doing the Masurka, their ain’t see B’Fowl. When B’Fowl look and see the dancin’ in he house and the flo set with roach, he set in and swaller them two by two. When da one who was playing the fiddle see B’Fowl swaller them dancin’ on the floor he faint with da fiddy in he hand.
From dat day to dis Fowl will eat roach and they say when cockroach have dance dey don’ call no fowl.
Click here to read more original stories from Bahama Songs and Stories - Memoirs of The American Folklore Society Volume III - 1895. The material was collected during the summer of 1888 at Green Turtle Cay, 1891 at Harbour Island and 1893 at Bimini.
