The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 12: In MotleyBierce, Ambrose
General
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 12: In Motley
Bierce, Ambrose
American literature
Each animal had its feed before it, what ever it liked best. The
ephalent had pea nuts, and the bear had ginger bread, and the giraft
had a wether cock off a steeple, and the ostridge had some black smith
tools, and the rat it was a eatin some Dutch cheese on a trap, and the
cow had a holly hock, and the tagger had a cow, and the snake had a
tagger, and the cracky dile had a natif nigger, you never seen such a
fine dinner, and Missy was a waitin on the gests with a white veil on
and some orang owtang blossoms. Jest as she was a passin Jack Brily to
the shark, the wale, which was eatin scum longside of me at the head
of the table, stood up on his tail, the wale did, and he had a boat
full of wine under his fin, like it was a cup. The wale he blowed a
while, and then he bellerd like a organ, and bime by he spoke up and
said: “Ladys and gents, it isent any use me tellin you why we have met
together to night, cause you know all about it. You know, too, that
we havent ever had a square deal from the relatives of our friend the
gorilly, which calls theirselfs yuman beins. They have been aginst us
from the first, and shiver my timbers if I dont believe thay would send
us all to the bottom if they had the power! Blow me tight, if I wouldnt
rather be a native of Nantucket than any one of them! We hav had only
but just 2 friends in the whole damb outfit. One was old Noah, which
wasent any use to me, and the other we have with us this evening, our
distingished guest, a true friend which under stands us, the only yuman
bein which has ever saw the point of our jokes and the beauty of our
moral charackters. Ime sure we all hopes that his yarns mark the dawn
of a new ery, and men will larn from them that we aint sech bad fellers
as some of us looks—meanin no offense to my friend the pecock; though
I dont go so fur as to say that I approove certain dishes which I see
bein et at this table, particklar by that shark. And now, ladys and
gents, I have the honor to ask you to join me in drinkin a bumper to
our ship mate, our guest, our friend, Little Johnny.”
Then they all stood up and drinked, and then a old rooster, which was
to the other end of the table, he flopped his wings and crowed out
“Three cheers for Little Johnny!” which was give by all present, each
feller in the languidge that he had been teached at his mothers knee.
This made such a awful noise, that it woked me up, and my sister was a
pullin my ear for time to go to bed.
When I was in my bed and she was in hern the door between us was open
and I said “Missy.”
She said: “Hold your tungue, you bad boy, what was you a going to say?”
I said: “Missy, are you a goin to be married?” and she said: “No, you
little goose, why not?”
Then I said: “Missy, I know you are, and marryin is poligamy and means
movin into a other house. When you have done it I want you to do me a
partickler favor.”
She said no, indeed she wouldnt, what was it?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account