Untitled

"JACKY-MY-LANTERN." 157but the old man prudently refrained from exciting theyoungster's imagination any further in that direction.Uncle Remus had a board across his lap, and, armedwith a mallet and a shoe-knife, was engaged in makingshoe-pegs." Wiles I wuz crossin* de branch des now," hesaid, endeavoring to change the subject, " I come upwid a Jacky-my-lantern, en she wuz bu'nin' wuss'n abunch er lightnin'-bugs, mon. I know'd she wuz afixin' fer tfer lead me inter dat quogmire down in deswamp, en I steer'd cle'r un 'er. Yasser. I did dat.You ain't never seed no Jacky-my-lanterns, is you,honey "?The littleboy never had, but he had heard of them,and he wanted to know what they were, and thereuponUncle Remus proceeded to tell him." One time," said the old darkey, transferring hisspectacles from his nose to the topof his head andleaning his elbows upon his peg-board, " dere wuz ablacksmif man, en dish yer blacksmif man, he tuck'nstuck closer by his dram dan he did by his bellus.Monday mawnin' he'd git on a spree, en all dat weekhe'd be on a spree, en de nex' Monday mawnin' he'dtake a fresh start.Bimeby, one day,atter de blacknewspapers,I have received a version of it from a planter in southwestGeorgia ;but it seems to me to be an intruder among thegenuine myth-stories of the negroes. It is a trifle too elaborate.Nevertheless, it is told upon the plantations with great gusto, andthere are several versions in circulation.