Negro myths from the Georgia coast, told in the vernacular

Chapter 41: XIX.

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About This Book

This collection assembles short folktales and tall tales drawn from the coastal rice- and swamp-region oral tradition, rendered in local vernacular speech. The pieces range from animal trickster episodes—featuring a clever rabbit, alligator, wolf, turkey, and other creatures—to human-centered anecdotes about conjuring, superstition, plantation life, and humorous misadventures. Arranged as many brief numbered stories, the volume preserves regional expressions, rhythm, and humor while alternating fables, jokes, and supernatural accounts. Recurrent themes include cunning over brute strength, community memory, survival in marshland settings, and the interplay of practical wit and folkloric belief.

XIX.

BUH ELEPHANT AN BUH ROOSTER.

Buh Elephant, him bin know Buh Rooster berry well. Dem blan roam togerrur, an Buh Rooster blan wake Buh Elephant duh mornin, so eh kin hunt eh bittle befo de jew dry.

Dem bin a talk togerrur one day, an Buh Elephant, him bet Buh Rooster say him kin eat longer ner him. Buh Rooster, him tek de bet, an dem tun in nex mornin, wen de sun jis bin a git up, fuh see who guine win de bet. Buh Elephant, him gedder leaf an grass, an eat an eat tel eh full an cant eat no mo. Buh Rooster, him sarche de grass fuh seed an wurrum, an eh pick an eat. Wen Buh Elephant done full, an der tan onder de tree duh flop eh yez, eh see Buh Rooster, dist es spry, duh walk bout an der swaller seed an grasshopper an wurrum same luk eh dis biggin fuh eat. Buh Elephant gib up. Eh fine eh yent de man wid de bigges belly wuh kin eat de longes.