“Ef’n Susan cud jes’ see me once dress up dat way, why, man, she cudn’ resis’ me futto sabe huh life. Nite befo’ lars’ when she seed me gwine ter Zion, wid meh yaller pants on dat’s got black stripes down de legs, dem I bo’t at Mage Rudd’s, she jes’ wuz charm’; an’ when I show’d huh meh new par ub gallisters[15] I got ter ware wid dem pants, she ’low, ‘Juba, you sut’ny do look peart.’ When Aunt Sookey seed me she sez, ‘Juba, you luck tu sweet ter lib.’ Den Uncle Stephen he smole uh grin an’ say, ‘Wait tell Jerry cum prancin’ erlong, you won’ think so.’ Den dey cummenc’ titterin’ an’ pokin’ deah necks out jes’ like uh passel ub geese wid young goslin’s; mos’ ’gusted me! Billy, Mrs. Rodgers al’ays call dat niggah Jerry-Myah. I nebba knew’d any niggah ’roun’ heah name’ Myah, did you?” “Not dat I kin recommember. He cum outin de Cyahrmichael fambly, an’ dey monstus cute sort ub niggahs.” “Well, he ain’ ’stressin’ me! I walk home fum Zion lars’ Sunday wid Susan. She did luck tu cute in dat new Josey ub hern! I dunno which ’track huh mos’, de gre’t sermon ub Pawson Demby er meh yaller pants. He prech fum de book ub Daniel erboutin de time de William goat (Pawson Demby say ’twan’ perlite ter say Billy goat in de pulpit) fit an’ smut de ram an’ breck he hohns. He ’cluded fum two profits (I fogit de name ub de fus’ one, but hit got Zek in it), an’ hit wuz all erboutin de new moon, six lam’s an’ uh ram. De udder profit wuz de gre’t Gencis, an’ Pawson Demby ’splain ter us ’bout de two hun’erd yews an’ twenty rams dat Jacob sont See-saw.” “Juba, you mean Esau, de hunter.” “Yas, dat’s hit, Billy. You see, I kyant read ter ’fresh meh mem’ry. Well, hit wuz uh real farmer’s sermon, but I wuz glad when de ’cludin’ time cum, kase Pawson Demby prech two hours an’ uh harf, de pew wuz so crowded an’ we sot so close dat bof meh feet wen’ ’sleep; truf is, dey got so tired, an’ ’twuz so wahm, I wud hab tuck meh shoes orf, but I didn’ hab no stockin’s on. Mrs. Rodgers’ Jerry wan’ at chuch. Tilly, he sistah, say he had uh chill. Wish hit had shake he haid orf! So I walk home wid Susan. When she got in de kitchen an’ tuck huh shoes orf she say ergin, ‘Juba, you sut’ny do look peart!’ Den she put huh han’ in huh pocket, pull out one dem can’y vusses, an’ she say hit say: “Wiolets red, roses blue, Sugah sweet; me too.” “Den she pull out nubba, an’ hit say— Lub hangs ’round dis lubbin’ hyart Like flies ’roun’ uh apple tart.