Mis Lide made mah fust pair uv britches. Ah membuhs one time ah
went to Miss Lide's garden an stole watuh mellons. Ah put em in a sack
an when ah want tuh come outn de garden ah got ovah de fence an got hung
an moster caught me. Ah'm tellin de truth. Ah aint had no desire tuh
steal since.
Moster Peter Lide's favorite song wus dis: "Hit's er long way tuh
heaven." Ah kin mos heah him singin hit now. He wuz a Christian man. He
wuz white and owned slaves but he wuz a good Christian. We didn' know
bout no money. When we got sick dat's when we got biscuit. We didn' know
bout Thanksgiving day and Christmas. We heard de white fokes tawkin bout
hit but we didn' know whut hit meant.
When anybody would die dey made de coffin. Didn' have no funeral, no
singin, no nothin' jes put dem in de groun. Dat wus all. Nebber stop
work. We nevah plowed er hoss. We used oxen teams. We made good crops
den. We raised all our sumpin tuh eat.
When ah wus a lil' bitsy boy Mrs. Lide use tuh tell us stories at night.
She give us our fireside trainin. She tole us when anybody wuz a tawkin
not tuh but in. Ah'm seventy five yers ole now an ah aint nevah fuhgot
dat. We ole fokes aint got long tuh stay heah now.
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