Uncle Remus Stories E-Book

Joel Chandler Harris

• Herausgeber: Joel Chandler Harris
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Uncle Remus Stories was first published in 1906 by Joel Chandler Harris, is presented here with full illustrations by A.B . Frost and Harry Rowntree.Uncle Remus is a collection of animal stories, songs, and oral folklore, collected from Southern United States African-Americans. Many of the stories are didactic, much like those of Aesop's Fables and the stories of Jean de La Fontaine. Uncle Remus is a kindly old former slave who serves as a storytelling device, passing on the folktales to children gathered around him.Br'er Rabbit ("Brother Rabbit") is the main character of the stories, a likable character, prone to tricks and trouble-making who is often opposed by Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear.In one tale, Br'er Fox constructs a lump of tar and puts clothing on it. When Br'er Rabbit comes along he addresses the "tar baby" amiably, but receives no response. Br'er Rabbit becomes offended by what he perceives as Tar Baby's lack of manners, punches it, and becomes stuck. 

Leseprobe

Uncle Remus Stories

by Joel Chandler Harris

Illustratrions by A.B . Frost and Harry Rowntree

Mawnin'!' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee

About the Author

JoelChandlerHarris(1845-1908) wasa journalist, folkloristand writer, best known asauthorof theUncleRemusStoriesor"Talesof UncleRemus" talesmoraltalesinspired bytraditionalAfrican American slavesin their country.The father, notmarried toher motherabandoned hershortly afterthe future writerwasbornand thereforethename of the mother, MaryHarris, andJoelnamein honor of thedoctor whobrought the world, withone secondsurname, Chandler, his mother's uncle. Anotherprominent physician, AndrewReid, Harrisgave the familya smallhouse tolive behindhis mansion. MaryHarrisworkedas a seamstressandgardenerfor its neighborsin order to keepher andher offspring. He wasa voracious readerand instilledhis son hislove of language: "The desire to write, to expressmy thoughtscame whenI heard mymotherreadThe Vicar ofWakefieldby OliverGoldsmith," he wrote. Dr.Reidalsopaidschool feesforseveral yearsHarrisandYoungsaidin reading and writing, butwasknown for hissenseof humor, his repeatedabsences,his pranksandjokes, this characterhelped himovercominginsecuritycaused by hisillegitimatestatus, redheadedand Irish descent.

Preface

DEAR FROST:    I am expected to supply a preface for this new edition of my first book--to advance from behind the curtain, as it were, and make a fresh bow to the public that has dealt with Uncle Remus in so gentle and generous a fashion. For this event the lights are to be rekindled, and I am expected to respond in some formal way to an encore that marks the fifteenth anniversary of the book. There have been other editions--how many I do not remember--but this is to be an entirely new one, except as to the matter: new type, new pictures, and new binding.    But, as frequently happens on such occasions, I am at a loss for a word. I seem to see before me the smiling faces of thousands of children--some young and fresh, and some wearing the friendly marks of age, but all children at heart--and not an unfriendly face among them. And out of the confusion, and while I am trying hard to speak the right word, I seem to hear a voice lifted above the rest, saying "You have made some of us happy." And so I feel my heart fluttering and my lips trembling, and I have to how silently and him away, and hurry back into the obscurity that fits me best.    Phantoms! Children of dreams! True, my dear Frost; but if you could see the thousands of letters that have come to me from far and near, and all fresh from the hearts and hands of children, and from men and women who have not forgotten how to be children, you would not wonder at the dream. And such a dream can do no harm. Insubstantial though it may be, I would not at this hour exchange it for all the fame won by my mightier brethren of the pen--whom I most humbly salute.    Measured by the material developments that have compressed years of experience into the space of a day, thus increasing the possibilities of life, if not its beauty, fifteen years constitute the old age of a book. Such a survival might almost be said to be due to a tiny sluice of green sap under the gray bark. where it lies in the matter of this book, or what its source if, indeed, it be really there--is more of a mystery to my middle age than it was to my prime.    But it would be no mystery at all if this new edition were to be more popular than the old one. Do you know why? Because you have taken it under your hand and made it yours. Because you have breathed the breath of life into these amiable brethren of wood and field. Because, by a stroke here and a touch there, you have conveyed into their quaint antics the illumination of your own inimitable humor, which is as true to our sun and soil as it is to the spirit and essence of the matter set forth.    The book was mine, but now you have made it yours, both sap and pith. Take it, therefore, my dear Frost, and believe me, faithfully yours,    Joel Chandler Harris

INTRODUCTION

I am advised by my publishers that this book is to be included in their catalogue of humorous publications, and this friendly warning gives me an opportunity to say that however humorous it may be in effect, its intention is perfectly serious; and, even if it were otherwise, it seems to me that a volume written wholly in dialect must have its solemn, not to say melancholy, features. With respect to the Folk-Lore scenes, my purpose has been to preserve the legends themselves in their original simplicity, and to wed them permanently to the quaint dialect--if, indeed, it can be called a dialect--through the medium of which they have become a part of the domestic history of every Southern family; and I have endeavored to give to the whole a genuine flavor of the old plantation.    Each legend has its variants, but in every instance I have retained that particular version which seemed to me to be the most characteristic, and have given it without embellishment and without exaggeration.   J. C. H.

CONTENTS

Uncle Remus Part 1 Chapters I-IX

I. Uncle Remus initiates the Little BoyII. The Wonderful Tar-Baby StoryIII. Why Mr. Possum loves PeaceIV. How Mr. Rabbit was too sharp for Mr. FoxV. Mr. Rabbit grossly deceives Mr. FoxVI. Mr. Fox is again victimizedVII. Mr. Fox is "outdone" by Mr. BuzzardVIII. Miss Cow falls a Victim to Mr. RabbitIX. Mr. Terrapin appears upon the Scene 

Uncle Remus Part 2 Chapters X-XX

X. Mr. Wolf makes a FailureXI. Mr. Fox tackles Old Man TarrypinXII. The Awful Fate of Mr. WolfXIII. Mr. Fox goes a-hunting, but Mr. Rabbit bags the GameXIV. Old Mr. Rabbit, he's a Good FishermanXV. Mr. Rabbit nibbles up the ButterXVI. Mr. Rabbit finds his Match at lastXVII. The Fate of Mr. Jack SparrowXVIII. How Mr. Rabbit saved his MeatXIX. Mr. Rabbit meets his Match againXX. A Story about the Little Rabbits 

Uncle Remus Part 3 Chapters XI-XXVIII

XXI. Mr. Rabbit and Mr. BearXXII. Mr. Bear catches Old Mr. Bull-FrogXXIII. How Mr. Rabbit lost his Fine Bushy TailXXIV. Mr. Terrapin shows his StrengthXXV Why Mr. Possum has no Hair on his TailXXVI. The End of Mr. BearXXVII. How Mr. Rabbit succeeded in raising a Dust.XXVIII. The Sad Fate of Mr. Fox

Uncle Remus stories

'Oh, ma! oh, ma! I seed Mr. Fox a comin'!'

ChapterI. UNCLE REMUS INITIATES THE LITTLE BOY

    One evening recently, the lady whom Uncle Remus calls "Miss Sally" missed her little seven-year-old. Making search for him through the house and through the yard, she heard the sound of voices in the old man's cabin, and, looking through the window, saw the child sitting by Uncle Remus. His head rested against the old man's arm, and he was gazing with an expression of the most intense interest into the rough, weather-beaten face, that beamed so kindly upon him. This is what "Miss Sally" heard:    "Bimeby, one day, atter Brer Fox bin doin' all dat he could fer ter ketch Brer Rabbit, en Brer Rabbit bein doin' all he could fer ter keep 'im fum it, Brer Fox say to hisse'f dat he'd put up a game on Brer Rabbit, en he ain't mo'n got de wuds out'n his mouf twel Brer Rabbit came a lopin' up de big road, lookin' des ez plump, en ez fat, en ez sassy ez a Moggin hoss in a barley-patch.    "'Hol' on dar, Brer Rabbit,' sez Brer Fox, sezee.    "'I ain't got time, Brer Fox,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, sorter mendin' his licks.    "'I wanter have some confab wid you, Brer Rabbit,' sez Brer Fox, sezee.    "'All right, Brer Fox, but you better holler fum whar you stan'. I'm monstus full er fleas dis mawnin',' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee.    "'I seed Brer B'ar yistdiddy, 'sez Brer Fox, sezee, 'en he sorter rake me over de coals kaze you en me ain't make frens en live naberly, en I tole 'im dat I'd see you.'    "Den Brer Rabbit scratch one year wid his off hinefoot sorter jub'usly, en den he ups en sez, sezee:    "'All a settin', Brer Fox. Spose'n you drap roun' ter-morrer en take dinner wid me. We ain't got no great doin's at our house, but I speck de ole 'oman en de chilluns kin sorter scramble roun' en git up sump'n fer ter stay yo' stummick.'    "'I'm 'gree'ble, Brer Rabbit,' sez Brer Fox, sezee.    "'Den I'll 'pen' on you,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee.    "Nex' day, Mr. Rabbit an' Miss Rabbit got up soom, 'fo' day, en raided on a gyarden like Miss Sally's out dar, en got some cabbiges, en some roas'n--years, en some sparrer-grass, en dey fix up a smashin' dinner. Bimeby one er de little Rabbits, playin' out in de back-yard, come runnin' in hollerin', 'Oh, ma! oh, ma! I seed Mr. Fox a comin'!' En den Brer Rabbit he tuck de chilluns by der years en make um set down, en den him and Miss Rabbit sorter dally roun' waitin' for Brer Fox. En dey keep on waitin' for Brer Fox. En dey keep on waitin', but no Brer Fox ain't come. Atter 'while Brer Rabbit goes to de do', easy like, en peep out, en dar, stickin' fum behime de cornder, wuz de tip-een' er Brer Fox tail. Den Brer Rabbit shot de do' en sot down, en put his paws behime his years en begin fer ter sing:    "'De place wharbouts you spill de grease,    Right dar you er boun' ter slide,    An' whar you fin' a bunch er ha'r,    You'll sholy fine de hide.'       "Nex' day, Brer Fox sont word by Mr. Mink, en skuze hisse'f kaze he wuz too sick fer ter come, en he ax Brer Rabbit fer ter come en take dinner wid him, en Brer Rabbit say he wuz 'gree'ble.    "Bimeby, w'en de shadders wuz at der shortes', Brer Rabbit he sorter brush up en sa'nter down ter Brer Fox's house, en w'en he got dar, he hear somebody groanin', en he look in de do' an dar he see Brer Fox settin' up in a rockin'-cheer all wrop up wid flannil, en he look mighty weak. Brer Rabbit look all roun', he did, but he ain't see no dinner. De dish-pan wuz settin' on de table, en close by wuz a kyarvin' knife. 

"'Look like you gwineter have chicken fer dinner, Brer Fox,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee.    "'Yes, Brer Rabbit, dey er nice, en fresh, en tender, 'sez Brer Fox, sezee.    "Den Brer Rabbit sorter pull his mustarsh, en say: 'You ain't got no calamus root, is you, Brer Fox? I done got so now dat I can't eat no chicken 'ceppin she's seasoned up wid calamus root.' En wid dat Brer Rabbit lipt out er de do' and dodge 'mong the bushes, en sot dar watchin' for Brer Fox; en he ain't watch long, nudder, kaze Brer Fox flung off de flannil en crope out er de house en got whar he could cloze in on Brer Rabbit, en bimeby Brer Rabbit holler out: 'Oh, Brer Fox! I'll des put yo' calamus root out yer on dish yer stump. Better come git it while hit's fresh,' and wid dat Brer Rabbit gallop off home. En Brer Fox ain't never kotch 'im yit, en w'at's mo', honey, he ain't gwineter."   

Chapter 2. THE WONDERFUL TAR BABY STORY

    "Didn't the fox never catch the rabbit, Uncle Remus?" asked the little boy the next evening.

fix up a contrapshun w'at he call a Tar-Baby

    "He come mighty nigh it, honey, sho's you born--Brer Fox did. One day atter Brer Rabbit fool 'im wid dat calamus root, Brer Fox went ter wuk en got 'im some tar, en mix it wid some turkentime, en fix up a contrapshun w'at he call a Tar-Baby, en he tuck dish yer Tar-Baby en he sot 'er in de big road, en den he lay off in de bushes fer to see what de news wuz gwine ter be. En he didn't hatter wait long, nudder, kaze bimeby here come Brer Rabbit pacin' down de road--lippity-clippity, clippity-lippity--dez ez sassy ez a jay-bird. Brer Fox, he lay low. Brer Rabbit come prancin' 'long twel he spy de Tar-Baby, en den he fotch up on his behime legs like he wuz 'stonished. De Tar Baby, she sot dar, she did, en Brer Fox, he lay low.    "'Mawnin'!' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee--'nice wedder dis mawnin',' sezee.    "Tar-Baby ain't sayin' nuthin', en Brer Fox he lay low.    "'How duz yo' sym'tums seem ter segashuate?' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee.    "Brer Fox, he wink his eye slow, en lay low, en de Tar-Baby, she ain't sayin' nuthin'.    "'How you come on, den? Is you deaf?' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. 'Kaze if you is, I kin holler louder,' sezee.    "Tar-Baby stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.

You er stuck up, dat's w'at you is

    "'You er stuck up, dat's w'at you is,' says Brer Rabbit, sezee, 'en I'm gwine ter kyore you, dat's w'at I'm a gwine ter do,' sezee.    "Brer Fox, he sorter chuckle in his stummick, he did, but Tar- Baby ain't sayin' nothin'.    "'I'm gwine ter larn you how ter talk ter 'spectubble folks ef hit's de las' ack,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. 'Ef you don't take off dat hat en tell me howdy, I'm gwine ter bus' you wide open,' sezee.    "Tar-Baby stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.    "Brer Rabbit keep on axin' 'im, en de Tar-Baby, she keep on sayin' nothin', twel present'y Brer Rabbit draw back wid his fis', he did, en blip he tuck 'er side er de head. Right dar's whar he broke his merlasses jug. His fis' stuck, en he can't pull loose. De tar hilt 'im. But Tar-Baby, she stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.    "'Ef you don't lemme loose, I'll knock you agin,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, en wid dat he fotch 'er a wipe wid de udder han', en dat stuck. Tar-Baby, she ain't sayin' nuthin', en Brer Fox, he lay low.    "'Tu'n me loose, fo' I kick de natchul stuffin' outen you,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, but de Tar-Baby, she ain't sayin' nuthin'. She des hilt on, en de Brer Rabbit lose de use er his feet in de same way. Brer Fox, he lay low. Den Brer Rabbit squall out dat ef de Tar-Baby don't tu'n 'im loose he butt 'er cranksided. En den he butted, en his head got stuck. Den Brer Fox, he sa'ntered fort', lookin' dez ez innercent ez wunner yo' mammy's mockin'- birds.    "Howdy, Brer Rabbit,' sez Brer Fox, sezee. 'You look sorter stuck up dis mawnin',' sezee, en den he rolled on de groun', en laft en laft twel he couldn't laff no mo'. 'I speck you'll take dinner wid me dis time, Brer Rabbit. I done laid in some calamus root, en I ain't gwineter take no skuse,' sez Brer Fox, sezee."    Here Uncle Remus paused, and drew a two-pound yam out of the ashes.