Kay Long and Betsy Ostrander interview with W. R. Jordan, Sarah Ruth Casey, James H. Mull, and Emily Ellis (part two)

The John Burrison Georgia Folklore Archive recordings contains unedited versions of all interviews. Some material may contain descriptions of violence, offensive language, or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. There are instances of racist language and description, particularly in regards to African Americans. These items are presented as part of the historical record. This project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who chose to share their experiences for educational purposes. The viewpoints expressed in this project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Atlanta History Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. The Atlanta History Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaims any liability therefore. If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Note: This recording contains racist language and discussion of suicide. The second of a three part interview, this recording starts with Sarah Ruth Caseys telling of Billy Bobtail, a humorous story about a boy and animals running away to seek their fortune. Casey then tells stories about animals who talk and act like children, and at 16:56 one about how animals talked to each other before humans existed. Then at 19:45 she tells another about a girl whose mother helps her impress men. Casey says that she learned her stories from her grandmother and husband at 21:55. Casey repeated these stories to her children, including one of the interviewers, Betty Ostrander, as well as her students. Next at 28:59, Casey tells a story about two men dividing corn next to a cemetery who are mistaken for God and the Devil, then one at 31:11 that warns against listening to Yankees. Afterward at 35:20, she tells an origin tale about how rabbits got short tails. Her next two stories are about a woman who always says the wrong thing, and one about a woman who always knows what to do. James H. Mull begins telling short stories and preacher tales at 53:19. At 59:15 he tells a ghost story about a house that no one could sleep in because it was haunted. The next is about a Major League Baseball player from Georgia. Starting at 1:01:30, Mull recounts his biography; he grew up with 10 siblings and was illiterate until starting to train as a Baptist minister. He joined the army in 1920 and served for five years. The rest of the audio is cut off. Emily Fay Ellis (1930-2002) was born to James Ira Casey Sr. (1896-1985) and Sarah Ruth Hopper (1897-1988) in Cedartown, Georgia. In 1951 she married James Gibson Guillebeau (1929-2004) and had a son David Alan Guillebeau (1952-1971). Ellis was an elementary school teacher. She remarried in 1964 and lived in Athens, then Cedartown, Georgia, where she died. Sarah Ruth Hopper Casey (1897-1988) was born to Joseph Hopper (1861-1931) and Lonnie Ellis (1869-1945) in Polk County, Georgia. In 1922 she married James Ira Casey Sr. (1896-1985) and had three children, Betty Irene Ostrander (1928-2008), Emily Ellis (1930-2002), and James Ira Casey Jr. (1937- ). Casey was a school teacher for 7 years. W. R. Jordan (1906-1976) was born to James Murray Jordan (1881-1965) and Martha Whitlow (1881-1934) in Cedartown, Georgia, where he lived all his life. He married Mildred Parks Jordan (1908-1995) and had children Gloria Collins (1930-2017), Noram Hugh Jordan (1932-2011), and Harriett Jordan Winderweedle (1934-2009). He registered for the World War II draft in 1940, and subsequently served as a reserve member of the National Guard for 10 years. In addition, he wrote a monthly column for a local newspaper. James H. Mull (1902-1976) was born in Floyd County, Georgia, to Elam B. Mull (1856-1927) and Josephine Lula Murdock (1862-1919). In 1926 he married Alice B. Sutton (1909-1993) and had sons James Leamon Mull (1927-1944) and Delmer Joe Mull (1932-2017). Mull served in the United States Army for five years starting in 1920, after which he became a Baptist minister for 40 years while working as a farmer. He lived most of his life in Cedartown, Georgia, where he died. Betty Irene Casey Ostrander (1928-2008) was born to James Ira Casey Sr. (1896-1985) and Sarah Ruth Hopper (1897-1988) in Polk County, Georgia. In 1946 she married Charles Clorliss Ostrander (1927-2009) and had two children. Ostrander graduated from Georgia State University, and lived in Polk County; Miami, Florida; and Columbus, Georgia, where she died. Kay Revonda Long (1949-2005) was born in Columbia, South Carolina, to Samuel Harold Long (1921-1987) and Flora Virginia Long (1928-2004). She graduated from Druid Hills High School, then from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. Long lived in Snellville, Georgia, when she passed away. A COLLECTION PROJECT: FOLKTALES FROM POLK COTlliTY, GEORGIA collected by: Kay R. Long and Betsy Ostrander for Professor John Burrison Fol klore 301 Georgia state University May 19, 1970 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Names and Addresses page 1 II. Historical - Geographical Sketch page 2 III. Map of Polk County page 3 IV. W. R. Jordan page !I V. Mrs. Ira Casey page 29 VI. James H. Mull page 73 VII. Emily Ellis page 9$ VIII. Release Form page 128 \ ) An asterisk 1*1 when used by a title denotes that the title was made up by the collector. All other titles were supplied by the informant. Informants: Collectors: NAMES AND ADDRESSES W. R. Jordan Route 5 Cedartown, Georgia 30125 Mrs. Ira Casey Route 3 Cedartown, Georgia 30125 James H. Mull Route 2 Cedartown, Georgia 30125 Mrs. Emily Ellis Route 3 Cedartown, Georgia 30125 Kay R. Long 551 Clairmont Cir., Apt. 7 Decatur, Georgia 30033 Betsy Ostrander 1158 Houston Mill Rd. Atlanta, Georgia 30329 A Hlstorloal-DisoriptivB Sketoh of the Colleotion Ar Polk County is looated in the Appalaohian foothills of northlrest Georgi",.. It ,-TIllS largely settled b;y poople of English and Irish descent, many of whom came to this ar.a from thl'! Carolinas around the 1830'B. although they still 11ve out on their fa.rrns. D"dry farming ,,-nd tho poultry industry h,wc repIEWl'!d, as thfJ area's me.in occupations, cotton f!flrming, Which was almost compl<'ltely destroyed by an invasion of the boll weevil. Mrs. Casey, and her daughter Mrs. Ellis, live in the area off of Gf1lorgia HighwFW 100 known s.s Cs,soy Valley, named for thedr fDl.mily which ovrns most of the vallf1ly land. Mr. SordEm lives in the Jackson C'r!'J,pel ",rea on the CfCtve Springs How.d. This ares. takeB i tB name from the nearby Methodist church of the Bame name. Nr. ~lull lives in the area lmown /}l,S Lake Creek off of US 27. (More specific directions for loc.tionB of lnformants homes ,Stre det:ailed on the ~mclos",d map.) Mrs. Ira Casey Hhile I'lrs. Casey \'las probably the l@[l,st willing of all our informants, she se",ms to h,',ve the most ext'1nsive bacJrground in oral tr8,dition, com1!ing from a family in which the children learned the old stori@s from their elders. Mrs. CliJ,sey S'~el11B to enjoy passing thes'9 stori",s on to her own children anct gn,ndchildren in the same manner she lt~::Irned them. 11rs. Ellis, !'lrs. CaRey i'E! daughter, remembers her moth~lr tellinl'; m21,ny of th,~ f!tories to her RS 8, child that we collected. The most 8triking thing about )\lrs. C,'.s",y during our two recording sessionB waB her constant rehtrsal of overy story before sh(~ would tell it into tho tape record<'lr. Unfortum~ tly h<'lr stories were much botter during their first tellihg than when recorded. In striving for perfection of detail snd plot, Mrs. CBsey b<'lcame nervous and confused, and lost much of the OhtlI')}l of 1'101' U~1tH,,1 m.~U:lno:c of' de 11very. While recording she sat quitely except for swoeping h8lnd g08tUl'OS 8lt vmriO\18 timos. Her mcJ.nner of delivery for terizDJ.tion B.nd tone throue;h her voice mlll,l1norisms. CASEY INTERVtE\'/ CASEY. What ili1m to say? 1 1m Mrs. Ira Casey. OSTRANDER. Okay. Your name is Mrs. Ira Casey. And what I s your adress? CASEY. Cedartown, Route 3. All OSTRANDER. ktright sh ah would you ah tell us ah ah when and where you were born? CASEY. I was born in P61k County in 18-1897. OSTRANDER. Okay CASEY. An I lived in Polk County all my life. OSTRANDER. Ah an what's your occupation? CASEY. Parmer's wife. OSTRANDER. Right. Ah could you tell us a little something about, you know, your general background an, you know, ah where you were raised. CASEY. I was reared in a large family on the farm an lived a regular farm girlls life re-riding all kind a horses an an we ha I had eight brothers an sisters an we never was at a loss as a g~me to play. They was enough of us to play anything we wanted to play an . ah that about it. OSTRANDER. Okay, ah how did you learn the stories? Were they told to you as a child or did you learn them after you were older. They usually CASEY. Well, ah some of them I heard when I was a child an ah ah others my husband, some that he had learned, he has told an that's the way I learned most of mine. OSTRANDER. Okay ah who was the typical person you learned the stories from, like your would it be your parents or someone else? .~'CASEY. I think grandmothers as a rule are good. \.W~ have time to tell em. OSTRMDER. Okay ah was there anybody in your neighborhood that knew tales a lot that you that you knew? CASEY. That did what? OSTRANDER. That knew a lot of' tales when you were young? CASEY. Not espeoially. OSTRANDER. Just everybody? CASEY. Hm, hm. OSTRANDER. Okay ah what's you favorite story? CASEY. Well, I like the ones that my grandmother told. She was of Irish deoent an I oan't relate them now but she would tell stories with Irish flavor that appealed to me more than anything I have heard. OSTRANDER. Ah what's this what kind of stories do you like to tell the best. CASEY. Ah .. I like gay happy tales the best. LONG. Why? OSTRANDER. AI' A-l~ight, why? CASEY. It makes people feel good. OSTRANDER. Ah, when do you usually tell tales? CASEY. When? OSTRANDER. When? CASEY. WEll, mos t of' the tales I've ever told was whi,le I was relaxin af'ter lunch. OSTRANDER. II/ho'd you tell em to? CASEY. Grandchildren an my children and school children. I taught school three ah seven years an I've told children many a storYl OSTRANDER. Ah . do you think telling these stories in front o~ a tape recorder has ah changed the way you told them any? CASEY. It hasl LONG. How? CASEY. Oh, I just can't think straight knowin it's recordin. OSTRANDER." Ah, do you like to tell stories to other people? CASEY. Yes ah I did especially when I was younger. Now I ah ferget things an that bothers me. OSTRANDER. Ah do fou think people tell stories ah as much as they use to? CASEY. No, I don't think so. They have TV an radios an all like that. I don't think that they tell as many stories an as the"') dId to when I was a chi.ld. LONG. Do you thInk that's bad that they don't? Do you thInk they should tell more stories? 33 CASEY. Ah well ah just judgin from my view, I enjoyed stories more than I did reading. OS'1'RANDER. Ah do people do the people around here that still tell stories tell the same kind they did when you', where young? CASEY. There's been some change ah .. there's ah . I think there's more adventure stories now than there was when I was a child. OSTRANDER. Do you think ? CASEY. We had more folktales, folkstories. OSTRANDER. Do you think people can learn anything from these stories? CASEY. I hope so. OSTRANDER. Are they more fun or, are they more for fun or for learning? CASEY. Fun. OSTRANDER. More for fun. Do any of these stories have any special meaning for you? CASEY. Yes. OSTRANDER. Which ones? CASEY. Well, all of em have some good meaning to em, ah teach us to be unselfish, teach us to be neighborly an teach us to love one for another. They's ah some good in almost every story that you have. OSTRANDER. Ah ... ah ...when you're telling stories do you get involved in them. Do you get excited when something exciti.ng is going on in the story or do you just tell it? CASEY. I formerly I lived my stories when I was tellin em but I'm out of practice so they donlt affect me too much. OSTRANDER. Okay ah why do you think some people tell the old stories and others donlt? CASEY. I think people are re-reminiscing whole lots, especially blder people an these things come to their mind an ah they enjoy tellin thing they knew when they were children. LONG. Do Teililing these stories does that play an important part in your life! I mean it see~s ~ from what you say, you seem to get a lot out of it. Would you consider, you know, maybe in the past more thah now an important part of your life? Does it give you something yourself? CASEY. Well ah One thing, when I was rearin my children it kept them quiet while I was tryin to rest. LONG. But you must get something out of it, you know, of it yourself don't you? CASEY. I guess so, I guess I do. I've told a many~a story to keep em quiet. LONG. Thatls practical. OSTRANDER. Okay, thank you. Tape 2, side 1; 350-510 BILLY BOBTAIL CASEY. Ready? Once upon a time there's a little boy who was known as Billy Bobtail an he really didn't have much family but he lived with one of his uncles, an he felt like he was not wanted an early one morning he decided that he'd just go out in the world an seek his fortune. So he got gathered all the clothes he had an tied them on a stick an went off down the read an he passed under the gate gain out. Well 01 cat was sittin up on the gate post an" said, "vlhere you started Billy Bobtail?" an said, "I I ve started out in the world to seek my fortune." He said "Well, may I go with you?" An he said, "Well, I don't know what kind a life it'll be but," he said, "nobody wants me here." So the cat went down an went along with him. An then got a little further an the 01 dog was lyin down the side of the road an "Billy Bobtail, Where you started this mornin?" "Well, 1 ' m not wanted here so I'm goin out in the war-world to see k my own fortune." The dog said, "May I go with you?" He said "Why yes, I guess so." Ah on an ah an 01 rooster was sitting on the fence crowin an Billy Bobtail said, "Why you crowin so early this mornin?" He said, "Well, I heard them say they was gonna cook me,'tllotfi ~ said, "w)'iJ. I don't care for that." An Billy Bobtail said, "\Vell, get down an come on go wbth us. \Ve 1 ve started out in the world to seek our fortune." "\Vell good. 11 So the 01 rooster flew down an went on. An the last one he came to was an 01 dOnkey on the side of t he road grazing. Ah he said ... ah ... "lt1hat are you doin way off down here grazin?" Said, "Well, my master 1 s turned me out to make my own livin,II"said, "1 ' m too 01 to be any hep to him." Billy Bobtail said, "\Vell , come along, we're all started out in the world to seek our fortune. " "Well , I will just go with you, " An they walked an walked an walked an after a wh~le they saw a big forest of pine trees down there an Billy Bobtail said, "Now you see, fellas you see that forest there," said, "the 3'1 tale is that they's are are any of ya robbers lives in 7// afraid. An they that forest an ah said, "No, we'll go along with ya." An they went on an on an they all got tired. Billy Bobtail said, "Well, let':s stop an rest a while," an so there was some pine straw under the tree an he got down lay down under the tree an the dunkey lay down beside of him an they ah the dog lay down an the cat went a little higher up in the tree an the rooster went to the very top an he said, "Oh, I see a light." An Billy ~ob-Bobtail said, I'Where?'1 IIJust over the way there.'1 0An they all wanted to go see about it. So they all went. When they got to there the door was fastened an the windas were high an so the dog got up on the dunkey's back an an then the . ah cat got on his back an the rooster flew up on the cat's head an looked in the winda. "Oh, there's some robbers in there an they have the biggest pile of money. They% countin it. II So he come down an they talked about it an Billy Bobtail said, III f we could frighten them off we'd have enough money to 11 ve on. 1I An so they agreed to hOw's gonna do it. Billy Bobtail stood on one side of the steps with a great stick an th~ dOnkey stood on the other side with his heels turned toward the door an the rooster got up on tbp of the ah thing an the cat an the dog got on eit her silG'dl of the steps an said IINow whenever I say go, let's all make all the noise we can." An the rooster crowed an the cat mewed an the dog barked an the donkey brayed an Billy Bobtail hollered. An it frightened the ah robbers so they jumped up an ran out . didn't git their money an as they went out, the rooster pecked on of em on the head an Billy Bobtail hit one with a stick an the dOnkey kicked one an the ~ogs bit one an the cat scratched em an you never heard such tales as those such tales as those robbers told about all those ah things that got after them. An the ah anyhow they was so frightened they hever come back an they found enough money in this house to buy food of all of em. They 11 ved ha ppy ever after. Tape 2, side 1; 000-056 Tale Type: 130. The ~nimals in Night Q.uarters. THE THREE FOOLISH BEARS CASEY. There was ah onoe a 11 ttle squi rrel th at 1 i ved in a holla in the top of a great big oak tree. An down I betow her there were three bears that lived in a lar~e holla in the tree. And ah they were all good friends an one day the squirrel had been hunting nuts an oame baok an the bears were all sitting ont orying an he said, "Well friend bears, why are you orying?" They said, "You see tha t large limb over there't" Said, "If we was in our house an that blew aoross the door we oouldn't get out. An if we was outside an it blew aorosa, we oouldn't git in.'!" An the squirrel said, "Oh, you foolish thingsl Why don't you take in your mouth an drag it way off where it wo n' t blow aoross ~your door?" "Well, we never thought about that." An so they drug it off. An the squirrel, "I don't think I want to live with three such foolish people." an said, "I'm going away an unless I find three people as foolish as I think you are I'll never oome back here to live. An ah so he was goin friskin along down the road an he heard a little noise an looked over an there was a 01 turtle tryin todimb over a high rock with a flat side an he said,"Friend turtle, what'er you doin?" He said he said, '~y cousin, snapp~nlturtle, is very ill an I want to go see him, but I can't get over this rock." Squirrel said, "Well, why don't you just walk around it?" Well, I never thought about that." An squirrel said, "That's one on em." An he went on further an he went across the purdiest little stream of water, stopped an got im a drink an hadn't gone very many feet until he came to a squirrel just sittin lookin up at the sky an he said, "Good mornin, little squirrel, what are you lookin for?" Said, "See that little cloud?" said "I think it's gonna rain an I'm so thirsty." An the rabbit said, "Why wait til that cloud ...why don't you just go to this little stream back here an get you a drink?" "Well, I never thought about that." An he said "Well, that's two of em," an he skipped an hopped an on down the road an came to a plum orchard an the ground was just covered in red plums an there sat a great big 01 bear. He was just lookin up. He said, "Good mOllhin, mister bear, what are you lookin at?" He said, "I am so hungry," said, "you see that lovely red plums up there in the top of the tree an I'm waitin for em to fall where I can eat one." Said, "Why don't you eat some that's on the ground already?" Bear said, "Well I never thought about that." An so the little squirrel hopped an skipped an went back home an he an the bears lived happily ever after. Tape 2, side 1; 057-095 Tale Type: 1384. The Husband ~unts Three Persons as Stupid as His ~ife. THE CAT AND THE MONKEY AND THE CHESTNUTS CASEY. Ah a cat an a monkey were talkin one day an ah they were discuss in where to find some food an they saw some hunters aroastin some chesnuts an the a monkey thought, "Well ...I ... just makes me hungrier an hungrier," while they were watchin them roastin em an after the hunters went on, they ah the monkey talked to the cat an talked the cat into puttin some chesnuts in the fire to roast."11An then he begun tellin the cat what a beautiful hand he had for a foot, that it was just like a person's hand. He could get those chesnuts out without gettin himself burned hardly at all. An the foolish cat believed him an so he went to goin in the coals bringin out the toasted chesnuts an burned himself very much. An after when he got the last one out, he looked aroun just in time to see the monkey ~at the last chesnut he had. An the monkey said, "Well, it looks to me like that you was getting old enough not to believe everything that people told ya. An so you haf to ah suffer for your being so silly . \ .1 '( __ \ '1'( , I don't how that's the way it wound up or not. Tape 2, side 1; 096-11$ GOING TO SQI~ETI~'S HOUSE CASEY. Ready? This story's about a fox. He an his wife were sitting around one dreary day an he was tired of the house an he told his wife said, "Hand me the bag there behind the door," said, "I'm goin out see what I can find." An she handed him the bag an he went out an as he started out the door, there's a bumble bee came sailin by. He caught the bee an put it in the bag, tied it up an went on over till the first house he came to. He knocked, the lady came to the door, daid, "Lady, may I leave my bag here while I go to Squeetum's house to get some pumpkin pie?" An she said, "Oh yes, I suppose you may." An he laid it down an she was curious so she just couldn't wait till he got out of sight till she looked in to see what was in it an it was a bee an it flew out an her rooster caught it an ate it. An ah so when the fox came back said, "Where is my bumble bee?" She snid, "Well, I opened the sack a bit an it got out an my rooster ate it." Said, "Well, that's all right, just we'll catch the rooster." So they caught Q rooster an put it in there, tied it up an went on a piece further an came to another house an he knocked on the door. The lady of the house came an said, "May I leave my bag here while I go to 43 Squeetum's house to get some pumpkin pie?1I 1I0h yes, yes, you may leave it." So he put the bag down an . ah went on down the road an she could see something wigglin. She opeded the bag to see what it was an the 01 rooster jumped out an her pig caught it an killed it, ate it. An when the fox came back, he asked her whlat became of his rooster. She sald, liMy pig caught it. 1I 1I1t1ell,1I he said, IIthat's all riv.ht, I'll just take the pig. 1I An she told the little boy said, 1I1t1ell, go out an catch the pig." An he chased, an chased, an chased an couldn't catch it. An fox said, IIWell, that's all right. ltd <Is soon have the little boy.1I So he put the little boy in the bag an tied him up an went on an he decided he was gettlng tired. An he thought, "Well, I'll just won't go . ~ Rny further. I'll cut across this hill here an go on home, ah he got up there an set down to rest an he decided he's hungry an he thought, "Well," Oh! OSTRANDER. That's okay go ahead. LONG. Just start back with the going to the ah taklng the little boy to the kitchen. CASEY. Ah r forgot about ah about . ah catchin ah oh . ah r left out the part about . ah puttin the He went to another house an knocked on the door an this lady came to the door an asked to leave his bag an she said ya, he could leave it. An that the lady of that house was makin cookies an the little boy could smell the cookies an ) he thought about his mama's cookies an about wish he could see his mama an he went to cryin a.h the la.dy satd, "Oh, I'm what a.re you cryin a.bouty't An he sa.id, '101 fox put me in here a.n," sa.id, "I w!l)nt to go home to my mama." She said, "Well, we'll fix him,'1 an she took the little boy out a.n filled his pockets full of cookies an sent him home. An she called up her 01 houn dog an put it in the bag an tied it up an when the fox came he thought it was the little boy an he nut it acrosst his shoulder an went on started home an went across a hill an he thought, 'IWell, I'm tired an hungry. I guess I bout as well eat the little boy here,'l An when he opened the bag to eat the little boy, out jumped the huntin dog an gobbled the fox up. I'm sorry I got that off. LONG. That's all right. OSTRANDI!:R. Tha.t' s fi ne LONG. Don't worry about it. CASEY. Stirred up. Tape 2, side 1; 116-171 Motifs: C322. Tabu: looking into bag. J2131.2.1. Bees caught in sack which is opened at home. K526. Ca.ptor's bag filled with animals or objects while captives escape. DHAKESBILL CASEY. Thf,r@ was 8th fBl.mily of due lis tha t we,re reJll.lly prosperous an the hee.d of the family vms known as Drtal,esbill. An he had mnde lots of mOI1@y rm the) ldmg of the country wher@ he; Ilved founel out he had the money '~.n h,,' s sl,lwl1l,ys borrowin some from hlm s.n h(~ borrO\'/.H1. quite 0, blt of rnonc;w. An so Dr,'il.lwsbill sent word to hlm that he'd like for him to pay it bHck ,m he dldn' t heDr from thl"l ldnp;. He wrote hlm, he cHdn't hen.r from hlm. He SJ3.id, "\'1",11," one mornln he got up B.n sald, "Well, I'll just go to the klng's house an ask for my money." An so he ,iunt st".rted out ,just qU<1,01dn away ,8.n he ... he CRme to l"dder I_Anln up asalnst the wall there an the Itl.dd@r sald, "Dral,esblll, \"h@r@ you st,)rt,~d so e8rly thls mornln?" He 8.id h I'~ gain over to the klng's house to get Bom" money he owes me." An the ladder said, "t.ll I'd likE' to go I,to the king' shouse. fij",.y I go alonp; \'1'i th 'il'a?" He sf'lld, "Yes, &l.n fold. yourself up very small f'ln p;et under my ~Jlnll:." An the, If'l.dder d1.d IJ,n they ... they went on dOl'm th," road just (sung) "Qu.clr, quz.ck, qup.ck, I'm goln to r;.t my' monflY baCk," ".n fr).h met Gt fox in the road. An the fox s~lid., \.'I':lhorf" you gain so chfl.l rily todf'l.Y?" An he 88.1d, "I'm goln down to the klng's house to gCJt some money he O'VElS me." "'FOJL' sm.td, "I've hearcI "'.bout WhCl.t fat turkeys an geese he has," says, "Can I go wi th you?" "Oh, yes," he said, "fold yourself up very small an orawl in my pooket." An the fox did. They went on down the road further ~<A.S an there's a wasp nest hangin up on a bush there an he"'s very nioe not to touch the wasp nest antthe wasp nest asked him where he's goin. Said ... ah ... "I'm goin over ta the king's house to get some money he owes ine." Wasp nes t said, "May I go with ya?" An he said, "Yes, if you'll call your chilnen all in an fold yourself up very neat an crawl in the other poc ket, ya may go." An so the wasp nes t did. An he went on singin, "Quack, quaok, quack, I'm goin to get my money baok. II He started aoross a little stream of water an the little stream said, 1I1llhere are you goin this moreJin? You seem so happy. II He said, "I'm goin over to the kingls house to get some money that he owes me.!I" Ahc,tni3 'ilittle,stJrearr:1said, III l d like to go to the king's palaoe. May I go with yoU?1I He said, "Yes, fold yourself up very small an get under my other ~ling.11 An the stream did. An the 01 drake went on till he came to the king's palace an knocked on the door an a man came to the door. Said, "I came to see the king to get some money He owes me. 1I An the king said, "Don't let him in. 1I An so he wouldn't let him in. So Drakesbill just marched around the king1s palaoe singin, (sung) "Quack, ijuack, quaok, I oome to get my money back. 1I He sung it louder an louder an louder. An the king beoome angry. He said, IICO out an oatoh him an throw him in the poultry yard an let the geese an turkeys pee k him to des. th.~ So he was eaugh t an put in the poultry yard an they all went to piekin at him an he said,to his friend the fox, said, "Friend fox, now's the time for you to heppme." An fox e arne out an he jus t snapped off geese heads an turkey heads an he Drakesbill went on sayin, "Quac k, quae k, quack, I I ve come to ge t my money bac k." An WOv'e, the king Oeeollla very much irritated. He said, "Throw him in the well.'1 An they caught him an threw him in the well an Drakesbill swam around in the water singin, "Quack, quack, quack, I came to get my money back," an he thought about the I adder an he said, ah "Friend ladder, come out an s tretcht yourself along the wall, stretcht yourself both long an tall." An the ladder did an he hopped up the ladderOO marched around the palace singin (sung) IIQuack, quack,quack, I come to get my money back." An the king was very mlileh- irri tated. He said, "Build a fire an burn him if there 1 s no other way to get rid of him." They built a fire an started throw him on. He said,the little stream of water, "Nowls your time to hep me." An the stream came out an he was so angry with the king, the stream just got larger an larger till it filled the palace an ah they was ah ah the king had to get up on tfl& top of his throne an everybody was gettin afraid an they went to throwin things at Drakesbill. He was just swimmin around in the palace singin, "Quack, quack, quac!l:, I came to get my money back." An they went to throwin every object thmy gmt. holt of at him an h@ s.id t this wasp nast sl3,icl, "Friend l'm,Sp, now's your time to he,p me." So the wns got out Em stung evrybocly ths,t W&\s tryin to clrivo Dre,kesbill out 9,n they rem off an Drakesbill finfO,lly' sat d own on the throne to rest rcm the people saw him ~m they slll,iel, "Oh, whn,t $\ good king he'd make t Ne.y long live lUng DrBkosbl111" An he 11ve happy ever after. Tape 2, side 1; 173-254 Ta,le Type: 51311.. Six Go Through the iihole Horld. The helpers ~orm v>11,r'fOi'.isdeecls for the hero ld~ the' Iring's court. THE: COV,! GOING DOi'!N IN THE !'TUn CASEY. Ah ah back in the early times when the animals v,ere all friends well, back in early times when the cmlnu'lls \~ere all friends :'tn they could tm1k to one mnother, thel~e 1IIas &lh m. rabbit an Il1 befitr that 11("re good friends f~n they ha<'l :;I.h been off on a journey an decided they'd buy this beef em carry it home. An as they' s goin home with it the beef 1~filS stubborn an hard to drive an 8.h )'<arriad it ,.. whole lots an one the oth Brer Bear thoup;ht up "'.n idea, no it Nt3.S Brother Rl'.bbit that thought up this idea, an he said, "Brer Bear, the thing for us to do is fHster Defl.r, the thing for us to do, I rurined that, is .1ust go an git lIt wagon an carry this calf home in the wagon an then it won't lose all of its wcip;ht." "We11," he said, "that would be a good id~,a." An the rabbit said, "I don't believe I'm quite big enough to pull the we,gon down here." H@ said, "No, I don't believe you are either. So, well I'll go get it an you ,1ust 11atch 9.fter the co.lf. 11 An so ah quick 1'.S he I':ot out of sight. well this rabbit butohellh~d the beef an oarried. all of it out an hid it but the tail. An when he heard the bear ooming in with the wagon, he stuok the bdl down in the mud. ",n he went to hollerin, "Hun, run, the co1~'s goin down in the mudl'Rml."r\,1n'.. ,tbe oow's goin down in the mud'" An &lh b"''''.r ran ,just Pl.S h"'.rd as he could an h"J got th",re, well the bear caught 1"1. holt of the t8.i1. The rabhi t pulle(l dovm ",n the' be8.r pulled up 8.n the r:nbbi t pUlled down fl.n the be:3.r pulled up 9.nd direotly the bco.r g8we the hard tug an pulled it", tEdl out of the rabbit's h8.nd an the rl'l.bbit said,'''Now you've played it, yous'd pulled his t.il off. You oan't get it," An... mh said, t~Well,f' smid. tt you was such a good ah friend to go get the wagon" said, "I'll :Just give you the tail," An .. ,m.h .. ,so he thI'O\'Tlyl it in the wagon an pulled it on home an on", day the bear W8S p8.S8 in by the rabbit's house an he heard the r,abbit ,just 8, singin, sfilid (sings) '''rhe b'~ar eat the-! t>.i, I eat the beef an Brother", er, , ,the bear eat the taU., I eCl.t the beef an the bM.r eat the tatl," An he s8.id, "1'lh"'.t dtd you say?" An he s9.id, "I 1'1'&113 sayin (sings) I done V1lthout fl.n the b<"'J.r eat the bo.l1, I did without an the bear e9.t the tF.l.il." He said, "Hell, I '0. thought you s:d.d somethin else an I know it'd ,just be terrible for you if you dld," Tape 2, sldel.1; 255-305 Motif: KII, 011 ,1, '1'ails in ground. 'l'hief stef'.ls "'.nimnls and sticks severed tal1s into the ground, oJ.aiminp; that o.nlmals hRve escaped un(t<erg:round., $0 'l'H11J UNTIDY GI RL;:' CASEY. There was once a mother who had a daughter that was not intersted in ah men an ah they didn't seem to like her an she didn't care anything about them. OSTRANDER. No, just keep talking. CASEY. An so ah the mother begun to try to teach the girl how to catch a man. An she told her said, "You have to beery dainty. You have to use good manners an ... ah ... ah ... learn to keep house an all these things that will attract a man to yoU.'1 An so ah the girl had a date with a young man an the mother insisted that she have him to come an eat with them. An ah so they served peas that night an that girl was so dainty that she cut every pea in half before she'd eat it an everything like that. An she ate so daintily an the boy was very well impressed with her an he thought, "Well, there she is a r-real little lad:"." An when the time came for him to go home, he went out the back to untie his horse to get on it an ride home an he looked in the winder an she was standin there at the pot they cooked the peas Dust eatin with the cook spoon just shovelin em in an he decided she wadn't so dainty after all. But his mother told him he mussn't give up an so he . once he was there an he . he . ah . his mother told him to . what to do to find out if she was a good housekeeper. An she said ah he started home, he came rushin bac k in the house an said ,'!!lV/hat' s wrong?" an said, liMy horse has the colic." "l1/ell," the girl's mother said, "V/hat could could we get up anything to hep?" Said, "What'll cure him is a teaspoonf~i of dust off of a bed slat is the only thing that I know of that would cure We-II him." An ... ah ... the lad y said, "You couldn't fi nd a teaspoonful of dust in this house. 11 An the girl said, "V/hy Ma, I bet there's a double handful under my bed.'1 An (laughs) so she lost that young man. Tape 2, side 1; 307-349 Tale Types: 1458. The Girl V/ho Ate so Little. The girl eats lightly and the mother-declares-this IS always so. Next day the suitor sees her baking bread and discovers that she can eat. 1462. Clean and Tidy. A suitor mentions casually that it is difficult to get seven-year old porridge, which he is to use as medicine. In the pots and pans of the house there is enough to be found, says the mother of the girl. Motif: Ki984.2. The girl who ate so little. V/hen the suitor sees her baking he finds that she can eat. DIVIDING THE CORN~:- CASEY. This is a rather amusing story ah about tw@ fellas that went out to steal a load of corn an they got to thinkin about how they's gonna divide it. They wanted to divide it equally so as they were gain along they came by a cemetery an they jus drove up in the cemetery so they'd be out of the road. An they made two piles of corn an they "1 111 take this one, you take that one, I'll take this one an you take that one." An there's an 01 Nig~eJ'man comin through an he heard it an he listened a little bit an then he went tearin down to where his boss lived an said, "Boss, Judgement Day's done comet" "Well, how do you know, Mose?" "Ilfell, I heard the Devil an God adividin up the folks up there in the cemetery." An the boss thought about ita little minute an he thought, "Well, 1 1 11 go see just what happened." An he went up there an sure nuf, he could hear, '11'11 take this one an you take that one, [Ill take this one, you take that one.'1 An he listened a while an he went over there an he recognized that they were dividing a load of his corn. Tape 2, side 1; 513-546 Tale Type: 1791. The Sexton Carries the Parson. Thieves steal a sheep or turnips. The lame parson has himself carried by the sexton. The sexton hears the thieves in the~emetery cracking nuts and thinks it is the devil cracking bo - es. 11'1i th the gouty pars on on his back, he comes upon the hieves who, thi nking it is their companion wi th a sheep, call\ou t, "Is he fat?" The sexton: "Fat or lean here he is." - ~'f. ~:} THE CORN MEAL CASEY. There was a ner-do-well that lived in the community where there was.. ~"h."""e-.people that were well to do an whenever they were going to have a .. he knew they were going to have a good me al he'd manage to be present. ,An so there was ah a wealthy family had a wedding in the family an he knew they were going to have a big dinner, so he wanted a excuse to go by there. So he loaded him up some corn, put it on his back an walked by an stop~ed an they invited him in to eat. He ate an ate an ate an ate an . ah . they were polite an asked him wouldn't they have something else. He said, "No, no I don't think I want anything to eat," said, "I h ave a sac k of yaller meal over here tha tIs good enough for such as me to eat. Tape 2, side 1; 548-573 Motif: J1742.7. Back woodsman eats yellow pound cake, thinking it is inferior to white biscuits the hostess tries to get him to eat. 5S ,; b 1"; TYING TP~ COW'S TAIL TO THE BOOT STRAP""- CASEY. One day there's 8 southern fermer milkin his cow an she's just switchin the flies. She'd hit him across the head an across the eyes an he was gettin worried with her. Didn't know how he's gonna stop it an a man came walkin down the road said, "Well, I'll tell ya how to stop that cow from switchin you." Said, "In Holland they just tie the tail to the boot strap." So the man tiel~the 01 cow's tail to his boot strap an an she (laughs) became frightened an started runnin an oh he just had a time Sometimes he was behind her, sometimes he was in front of her an sometimes on her hips, an an when he finally got loose from her, he looked at the 01 cowan he said, "1 1 11 never try that again. I'm not gonna try anything those ferners do, aspecially if a Yankee tells me to. LONG. Where did you learn that one? CASEY. Oh, that's just a family ta.tl. See we're Southerners, so we had about a Yankee in it. Tape 2, side 1; 575-612 Tale Type: 1849. The Priest on the Cow's Tail. When the cow is being milked, the priest tllies her tail to a button on his coat. The wasps sting her and she runs away with the priest Motif: J2l32.3. Milker ties cow's tail to himself. Bees sting the cow. 5"(, ) SCISSORS CASEY. Speaking of people like to argument, I want to tell you about a'.d'louple that were the worst people to s~):jue I've ever seen. One time the man was fixi n to cut s piece of '. heavy material ta ah mend the girth to his saddle an he got his knife out an his wife said, "The scissors'd be better to t'cut that with." He said, "No, a knife'ed be better." She said, "Well, I know the scissors would be better.'1 He said, '~o, a knife." An they went on that way for a while an he became so angry, he picked her up an threw her in the river an when she came up the first time she says, I'Scissorsl " He said, "Knifel" She came up the second time she said, "Scissorsl" He said, 'IKnifel" An as she went down the third time he said, "Knifel" (pause while making scissors movement) And she made the sign of the scissors. Tape 2, side 2; 000-013 Tale Type: 1365B. Cutt.!J:!E with the !\,nife 2!'. lb~ ~ci.!3so!'E. At the end of the argument, the man throws his wife into the water. With her fingers, she makes the motion of shearing with the scissors. 2/1 ) TWI STED MOUTHS CASEY. This story is about a family that had ah ah something wrong with their mouths. The ah ol man in the family ah . upper teeth overlapped his lower teeth an ah his under lip was under. (extends upper lip) The 01 lady's mouth was ah uner lip overlapped her upper Hp. (extends lower Hp and .iaw) An they had a daughter, Sal, an she, her mouth was twisted to the right. (twists mouth to the right) An they had a son, Bill, whose mouth was twisted over toward the left. (twists mouth to the left) An the one day the power went off an they had to light a cahdle when preparin for bed. An ah so when the 01 man went to blow the candle out an he blew an he blew an nothing happened. An he called his wife an they held was holdin it right out in front of her an she blew an blew an nothing happened. An the daughter came . she blew an nothin happened. An then the boy came an nothing happened. An one of the neighbors saw it an he come tn an explained to em that if the 01 man went to blow it out, he would have to hold the candle below his mouth an the 01 lady would have to hold the candle above her mouth an an er girl girl, would hold her's to the right an the boy would have to hold it over to the left an they were so happy they had learned how to blowout a candle. TJONG. Where did you hear that one? Do you remember? CASEY. Oh, I don't remember the source of that one. LONG. Do you think it's old, an old story? CASEY. I tis old. LONG. Thank you. CASEY. If I learned it. Tape 2, side 2; 014-036 Motif: X131. The wry-mouthed family. Each member has mouth turned in a different way. Unavailing attempts to blowout the light. ! WHY THE RABBIT HAS A SHORT TAIL"" CASEY. Ah a long time ago the rabbit had a long tail like the squirrel's an ah they he was very vaih of it an ah he an the squirrel were always ah showing off their pretty plumy tail An ah the squirrel came through town one day with a big string of fish an the rabbit asked him where he caught those fish. He said, "Oh, it's easy," said, "just go down to the mill pond an hang your tail off the mill dam an when the moon gets to the top of those trees the fish will bite." An the rabbit thought, well he'd try it an he went do.m one cold night, sat down on the mill dam an hung his tail off in the water an when the moon got up to the top of the trees, he tried to get up to see if he had any fish an his tail was frozen hard in the ice. He pulled an did every way he could but he couldn't get it out an he thought, "Well, daylight's ccfm'in9, an my friends come along an see me like this, they'll laugh." An ah bout that time ah an 01 owl come floati~lby. ~ PMl said asked him what he was doin there. He said, "Well, my tail's stuck in this pond ... frozen in here," an said, "I wish yOU'd help me get it out." An the owl said, "Gladly." So he flew down an snipped off the rabbit's tail right at the top of the ice an flew on off an so ever since that day the rabbit haves had short tails. LONG. Do you, did you learn that one as a child, that story? CASEY. Yes. LONG. Okay, thank you. Tape 2, side 2; 037-060 Motif: KI021. The tail fisher. The bear is persuaded to fish with his tail through a hole in the ice. When he is attacked and tries to escape, he llioses his tail. THE HANGING ATTIC"". CASEY. There are people in this world that manage to say the wrong thing so many times. 1 1m reminded of a lady that could do that. There was ah one of her frierldd' husband had become despondent an hanged himself in their attic. An the neighbors all decided they'd go over ill console the widda an they reminded thid woman, I'Be careful what you talk about. We don't want to make her grieve any worse." "Well, all right, I'll be carefull,lt So they went ovev"an ... ah ... talked aroun a little bit an this o1,,).ady decided the weather waould be a safe subject an she said, ItAren I t we havi n terrible weather. It The bereaved woman said, ItYes, therels just so much rain, look like I could never get caught up with my washin. 1t She said, "Well, you shouldn't mind that at all," says, "you have such a nice attic to han~ things in. 11 LONg. Have you ever known anybody like that. CASEY. Oh, yes, 1 1m sorta like that. LONG. Okay, thank you. Tape 2, side 2; 061-076 THE PREACHER WHO COULDN'T READ;:- CASEY. This is a story that one of my neighbors told me. She knew a man that was called to preach that couldn't read an ah he hired ah one of his neighbors to go down an sit under the pulpit an as he ran his finger along the scripture, he was ah read it quietly an then the preacher would read it aloud to the congregation. So they read a few lines an . ah ah the man under the pulpit said, "You'll have to move your finger, I can't see to read." He said, (loudly) "You will have to move your finger, I cannot see to read." He said, "You dern fool, I didn't mean for you to say that." An he hollered ... ah ... "You dern fool, I didn't mean for you to say that." An that broke up the congregation. LONG. Oh, that's good. Tape 2, side 2; 076-089 A version of this story is found in Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps, The Book of ~egro Folklore. Dodd, Mead &Company, New York, 19~8~ page-7 , in which the man under the pulpit asks the preacher to hold the book higher. TERPIE CASEY. There was an 01 man an a 01 lady that lived down at the foot of a hill an they had a little dog that was their constant companion. But it got to where that every night after they would go to sleep, the little dog, Terpie, would ah start out barkin. He would bark an bark an it worried the 01 man an he threatened the little dog, "If you don't qUit barkin so much I'm gonna have to git rid of ya. bark some An but but the next night the little dog would an bark.'II'Ab"right over the hill from them there was '-111J), s' hobe~s, little dwarfish men that ah . slept through the daytime an got out an prowled aroundat night an stole things toJlive on. An the little dog was tryin to keep them away which the 01 man did not know. An it went on a while an finally the 01 man told the little dog Terpie, "If you do that again, I'm gonna cut your tail Off." An the next mornin he got up an cut the little dog's tail off. An he LJeJ( barked the next night = he said, ,,~ I'll jus t cut yer legs off." An he kep on til he cut all the legs off an the little dog barked on. He said,"well he'd just cut his head off an then the next night he just went to sleep an slept so sound. In fact he slept so sound th at the ho~;)~ame ) 1 over the hill an put his 01 lady in a sack an carried her home with them. An when they got there, they were tired an sleepy an they just hung her on the wall an the 01 man woke up an he called to his wife couldn1t find her any place an he didn't have any idea which way to go to hunt her an he thought about his little dog. So he got out an put it back together again. An the little dog sniffed around a while an took off acrosst this hill, the 01 dog follow ... ah ... ah ... the dog ahead an the 01 man following. an when they came to the home of the hOb~~ they were all sound asleep an the 01 man s~ipped in the house, lifted his sack off the wall an carried his 01 lady home. An tha 01 lady an the 01 man an little doe: Terpie lived happily ever after. Tape 2, side 2; 089-122 Motif: ,Z21.5. The Hob,yahs. The old man, the old woman, little girl and the little dog Turpie. The Hobyahs molest house. Turpie barks, angers the father who cuts off his tail the first night, a leg on each of the next four nights. Hobyahs carry the family home, put them in bags. Man puts dog in bag; he eats up all the Hobyahs when they open the b8g to e~t the little girl THE BROWNIES AND THE BOGG.ARTS CASEY. Ah once there was an 01 tailor lived near some woodland an ah he an his 01 mother an two small children lived there ah he barely made enough to feed them an it worried him an but the ah mother grand .. his mother was old an she wadn't able to hep him much an . ah the boys were just boys, just careless, did not see a thing to do. +ho-+- An ... ahoo .one day he SAid, "I wish'r had some bro~mies livin with me rather than boggarts. lI An the gran an the mother said, lIWell, maybe things'll change." So the boys came in one day from plAyin~an said, "What's for supper?" An the grandmother said, "There's no supper ton igh t," said, "we only have a little food an it's more important that you have food for breakfast an just go on to bed." An they went to bed. They were hungry an they got to tbinkin about what their father said about wish they had some What a boggart was ..A boggart was a brownies. They knew -U,,.t person ~ never wanted to hep anybody. An they went to the grandmother an asked her said, "Grandmother, where could we find some brownies?" She said, "The 01 owl could tell," An says, "Where' s the olowl?lI "Oh, he lives in the deep wOOdS'.lI So that night after they went to bed ... ah ...Tommy got to thin ki n about it an looked he waked he looked out an the moon was shinin so bright an he slipped out the door an went out in the deep wood. An he could hear the 01 owl say, "Who, who," He said, "It's Tommy," said, "I came to ask you where the brownies lived." An the 01 owl said, "Go tb the pond, stand on the north side an say ah (pause) 'Show me where a brownie', turn around three times, look in the pond an you'll see where to fi nd the brownies." We 11 he did it an it was a clear moon shiney night an it was himself. An he looked at the 01 owl said, "This is just me." He said, "So it is, so it is." An so he realized whot it meant an he went back an waked his bilother up an told him said, "I found out who the brownies are." An he said, "Who?" Said, "It's us behavin~like we should." An so early next mornin, they got up an went down an cleaned up that room, folded the 01 man's material an everything carefully an an when the 01 man awoke he oame down tired said, "Oh, if I could just ... could just learn (pause) how to make more money to keep my ramily gain." An he saw this all this cleaned up an h~ called up to his mother saill,"Mother come davID," said, "the Brownies have been here." An so ah . she came down an he said, "Well, how could I paY'em?" She said, "Just put out a bowl of clear water everJnight. That's all the brownies ask for." Well every night the 01 man very carefully put out a bowl of cool water for em an next mornin, when he'd lLXJlN\d. come down everything~ be in apple pie order. An it just heartened him so, he did more work, got more orders an he was just makin a good livin for the family. An the boys were very happy. An ah so he told his 01 mother said ... ah ... "Mother, I want to do something for those brownies. How do I go about doin something for a brownie?" An she said, "Ah ... (pause) Oh, I don't know." He said, "I think I~ll just make em a suit. What size would 1 make?" She said, "Oh, Tommy's about the size I'd think a brownie'd be." So he measured Tommy carefully an made him a cute little suit an tried it on Tommy an it fit. An so he made another'n e*actly like it. An the next night, he put out the bowl of water, laid the suit on the chRir an ah . went on to bed. An in the ni ght, the boys came down an they c le aned up the house an they came across these little suits an they said, "Oh, bless him, he made us a suit." An so they tried em on an they exactly fit,an they were just dancin around an he heard a little noise an he crept down the stairs an he could see em but he didn't let them see him. An he saw how happy they were an ah he went on back to bed an the next mornin he told the family, he said, "I had the greatest experience last night, I got to see the brownies," andsaid, "Come to think about, they look about like my own boys." An the grandmother daid, "Bless look like some of the family." ya," said "ah, "They usually " ~>JQ, \I An he said, ,;",'l'his I'm thankful for, that the boggarts left ourhhome an the brownies come to live." Tape 2, side 2; 126-210 Motifs: F26l. Fairies dance. F239.4.2. Fairies are the size of small children. F236. Dress of fairies. F346 (a). Fairy or brownie helps mortal with housework. THE LA.DY FROM PHILADELPHI A CASEY. In in a small town there was a Peterson fsmily lived. There was the mother an grown, Elizabeth Ann. Then she year Ld college an a small boy. a grown daughter . almost (if' Ol.:>f) ) had a son whif\had had one An ah . they were peculiar people. She decidediit was tie for Elizabeth Ann to go takin music lessons. An she oalled the furniture people an they brought a piana an the workmen happened to set it down with the keys toward the wall. Well, she worried an her musio. worried. ~O-S How in the world ~ Elizabeth Ann gonna praotice An so they just raised the winder an put the piana stool outside on the poroh,an Elizabeth praoticed the piana that way. An ah so ah they were gettin along fairly well an then oome Christmas time she said, "We've been so blessed. We gonna have the biggest Christmas this time." Said, told the boy said, "You go out an buy a nice tree. a perty tree." So he went au t an bought a large tree an they brought it in. It was too tall for their oeiling ah so they just got up an sawed a hole out in the ceiling an the tree would not be stead1 that way so they put a box under it an stuok more of the tree up in the loflt to steady it. An ... ah ... so ... ah ... things ... they was always doing things like that. An so after Christmas was J' over she said, "Now the first of the year, we always go out to the shut-ins an the less fortunate people an carry them gifts." An told her big boy said, "An han-harness the horse an put hiro to the carriage." An she got up jelly an jams an ah cookies an things like that an put in the car. Well they all got in, picked up the lines, horse didn't start. They whistled, they clucked an they begged an the horse didn't move. An ah so finally she laid the whip on him an he didn't move. She said, "Children, this buggy is just too heavy." So she got out, set the jelly an the jams an the pickels an the cookies all out on the ground an crawled back in an the horse still wouldn't move. An ah she said, ~Well ah this lady from Philadelphia always knows the answer." Said, "10u go on up there an ask her whflt to do about this horse." So they went up there an asked her what to do. She said, "Well, I'm sick in bed but I'll tell you what 1 111 do. If you'll get my opera glasses, I'll try to 100 k down there an see if I can see what's wrong." So she ... ah ... looked through her glasses an said, "You go bac k an tell your mama to unhitch the horse from the hitchin post an I'll think he'll go on. Well they were . they were so pleased with that. An ah so after they had made that strenuous day of visitin around,the next mornin the 01 lady woke up ah very tired an she said, "Well, I'll just get up an brew me a good cup of coffee, that alway, picks me Up." An I \ ah not nottctn what she dtd, she put salt tn it instead of sugar. Well she couldn't drink that so she put a little . she put a little of everthing she could think of in there. It dtdn't take the salty taste out. An she sent the boy over to the druggist an told him to send her something that would kill the taste of aalt. An he sent her some drugs an she put a little of this in, a little of that in an ah it didn't taste any better. Satd, "Well go to the 01 herb woman," an ... ah ... said,"she has an herb for almost anything you can think about." An they found her in the woods gatherin up roots an leaves an things an they told her what their mother said an she said, "Well, I'll do the best." So she come in put a little tansy in it, didn't taste right an they put a little peppermint in it, didn't tast rtght. In fact a little of all the ginger root an all the things that she'd collected an ah the coffee just didn't taste Itke coffee. An she, the lady said, "Well, I'll tell you What, go over to the lady from Phtladelphia an ask her what to do." An ah .. so they went over an told the la9Y of Philadelphia what had happened an all the trouble they'd gone to an the coffee stlll dtdn't taste like coffee. She thought a little bit, she sald, "I'll tell you what do. You go over to ... ah ... go back to your mother an tell her jus t pour that coffee out an brew her a fresh cup of col~ee." An she dtd an enjoyed her coffee very much. I don't know whether that's all it. I thtnk it is. Tape 2, side 2; 212-299 Preacher [\lull', in hi8 youth an illiterato moonflhtnor, W8JJ fJ. v,cry 1'11111.nl'; J.nformg,nt. On our fj.r8t vistt l:rith him 1'10 didn't rl'1cord his fl~W stories becflmsc l'le f",il(~d nnd record them the next weekend. Preacher ['lull said that he hm.d difftculty in remembering stories becl)l,use he usu.9.1ly \. found a story from his repetoire to ftt the situation. II During the r(":cording session he s,,,emed relaxed for the most part, 1.lthough the machine put h1.m on ~uard. first. He leaned over facing the microphone and did &l,t not move hi8 hands or bod.y in IT,(HJtures whtle speaking, except to spit his Chaw of tobacco into a can at hJ.8 feet. MULL INTERVIEW LONG. Could you please tell me your name and address? MULL. Ah . my name is James H. Mull, Cedartown, Georgia, Route 2. LONG. And could you tell me where and when you were born? Ml~L. I was born April the 29th, 19 an 2 in a little log cabin over heah on the Southern Railroad in Floyd County, Georgia. LONG. What is your occupation? MULL. Well.i~ ah I'm livin the life of Riley. I'm just eatin an bed in up. I'm retired, retired Baptist minister, also retired farmer. LONG. How long you been a minister? Ml~L. Ah I preached my first sermont the second Sunday in August, 1930, forty years ago. LONG. Long time. Could you tell me something about your general background, about your family and where you grew up, about your life when growing up~ fIIULL. Well. .. 1. .. I lived in ... ah Floyd County from birth until I was ten years 01 an my I moved with my father large family. There's thirteen of us. We moved down here to a farm joinin . ah where I live now an ah 1ilived 1S there until ah 19 an ah 20. I joined the United States Army an I served in the army for four year, 1920 to 1925. Ah I had to put in two months extry time. I broke my guardhouse an had to make up a little time there. I got discharged on January the 25th, 19 an 25. An ah I come home an 1 1m sorry I fell with I got with the wrong bunch an lived very rough for a coupla years, but ah then a little girl that lived out here in the community that lId knowed all of her life an ah I begin to date her. I I . ah begin to feel I wanted to get away from the rough life of which I was livin an ah me an her married. I moved up ah ah bout a quarter of a mile above Lake Creek an ah rented me a crop, started to workin a crop, started to workin, started to goin to church. An I went back to church, 'pologized to the church for the life in which lId lived. (switch to tape 3, side 1; 000) Ah this happened in 1927 (pause) an . ah . I went on to church, attended church til 1930 an I felt like the Lord had called me to preach. An they was give me an appointment on the second Sunday in August, 1930 an I been a minister ever since, but it taken me ah several years. I couldn't read. I never did go to school any to mount to anything. An I . ah developed into a young man that I didnlt know even my ABCls. But 1919 I had a serous accident an lay unconscious for five days an nights an just for that I lost my mother an I had a little ah 12 year 01 sister that tried to keep house for us an a niece of the same age that she stayed with us a whole lot to hep my sister an ah she learnt me my ABCls. But when I'd entered into the ministry I still hadn't learn learnt how to read to do any good an I had to learn how to read before I could ah ah . read the Bible an understand it well enough to teach it. We have a lady here in the community now, ex-school teacher, that when the first church, Southside Baptist Church in Cedartown, called me 19 an 33, December, 1933 an I'd get lld go down an get her to learn me my scripture lesson through the week so I could read it on Sunday an ah (pause) until I learnt how I could read it myself. (pause) An ah the people in Polk County have been unusually nice to me. I had the priviledge of preaching ah in my county, right around my own door for 33 year. I never been asked to retire, I never been asked to resign from any church. (pause) The people been unusually good to me. I'm very grateful for it, both to God an to man. LONG. Ah now to talk about these stories a little bit, could you tell me how you learned you're stories. Did you learn them as a child, when you were older or, you know, after you started to preach, whenever ? MULL. I just ... ah ... ah ... 1 ...1 ...1 ... 1 ler ... ah ... I learnt some of em when I was a child, but God blessed me with a good membry. I even remember the first the text of the first sermont I preached, I remember the text of the second sermont I preached, the third sermont I preached an the first homecomin sermont I preached. I remember that text, an ah so many thihgs back there. The Lord blessed me with a good memory an the facts of the business, when I were a young man ah in my late thirties ah I could read over a passage of scripture two or three time, a whole chapter of scrllipture then sit down an tell you everthing was in it. I had sort of a photostatic mind. 1 ' m sorry to say that my remembry is not that good now ah but I've had the other ministers ah in the Association to refer to me as havin a mind like an elephant. I never forgit anything an I did have a good remember, the Lord blessed me with it an for which I was very grateful,for. I was brought up by uneducated parents. Ah ...my father ... ah ... didn't know "A" from a "B", didn't know one dollar bill from a five dollar bill, but he implanted somin in my life that has meant so much to me. The people that knowed him the longest an the best said he would walk five mile to pay you a nickel if he owed ya. He'd also walk five mile to collect one off of ya, if you owed him. An that's always been my philosophy of life. If a man owed me anything , I wanted him to pay me. If lowed him anything, when it came due I always paid him or I went an made arrangemints that was satisfactory to him about my obligations. LONG. Could you ? ) MULL. I have credit now, have had ... ah more credit than ah most of the people of ah my financial standin an Ilm Ilm very grateful for that. Ah Ilve always tried to take care of it always will. I never wanted no thin unless it was mine, somethin that I had earned honoralbe an 1 1m still that way. LONG. Could you tell me ah if there's any typical person that you learned these stories from? What they would be like, I mean who would you be more likely to learn them from? MULL. lIve knowed so many people over my life (pause) until I donlt know of anyone perticlar one that I ah (pause) have learnt so many of em from. LONG. Well was there anyone in the community where you were raised who was known as a good story teller? If someone were to come in and ask if there was a good storyteller there, would there be one or two people who would be known for th at? MULL. Na, 1 . 1 donlt recollect anybody in in my community ah that was a story teller an facts of the business, I been considered the story teller ever since I's grown in this communJ.ty. LONG. Well good. Do you have anyone favorJ.te story and if you do could you tell me why you like it? MULL. (pause) Well, not as just a short story. 1 ...1 don't know as I have any ah any short story . ah favorite story. I I there's so many good stories that I have heard ) over a period of years, that ah some of em was inspirin to me, an some of em fascinated me, an ah ah some of em was just downright funny an ah LONG. Do you like the preachers, you know, the stories about preachers, are they ? MULL. Ah yes ah er ahl I've always, ever since I've been in the ministry, I I've always got a lot ta joy out a stories concern in ministers, because I knew them better'n I knew anything else an I guess would understand em an probly get more out of it tan I would anyone else an ah so I I've always enjoyed good stories on preachers. LONG. Is that why you tell those kinds of stories about preachers? MULL. Yes, 1 ...1 get a kick out of it. 1 ...1 always did get a lot ta enjoymint out of it, tell in a joke on a preacher an facts a"the business ah anybody that I always felt very close to. I always did ~ike to tease em a little bit, to joke em a little bit. I felt like at that was a ah sort of a indication of good fellowship ah good friendship, close friendship between ya. LONG. Well, then you wouldn't say that in a community where people tell a lot of jokes on their preachers that theytre being in anyway, well, sacrilegious or anything? I mean they're not really making fun of the}r religion but maybe just making fun o~, you know, the certain things that people do? Ah would you say that? What do you think about that? MULL. Um ... ah ... ah ... In in some respects it is, but generally speakin, no. Ah most a the people, ajudgin other communities from my own communit~es, most of our people thinks very well of our minister. We do now. The young minister we've got now, we think well of im an we don't mind teasin im a little bit an jokin with im a little bit an you'll hear some of the persons say some little somethin or other funny about im ever once in a while, but it's all done in the spirit of love an friendship, really because ah . ah they love im an . an think well of im, ah instead of tryin to ah ah say somethin against im that would hurt im. The the average person that I've knowed in my life ... ah ... if ... if ... ah ... if they didn't like anybody, they didn't say nothin about im good or nothin. They just didn't wonta say anything about im. But genlly when you say somebody's always tellin a joke on somebody ar teasin somebody, it's somebody that genlly likes em an feels like they're very close to them. LONG. Well,these, since religion does play such, you know, huge part in your life, a major part in your life, then telling stories about religion and about preachers and everything, would that tend to reinforce your thinking1 MULL. Ah . if it's told ah with the right motive (pause) an has the right application (pause) I think it would ah .. would enhance religion. 'i>\ LONG. Ah Could you tell me, when do you usually tell these tales and who do you tell them to? Do you tell them, you know, just to your friends or in church to other preachers, or just when and where do you tell them? MULL. Well, a joke or a story is never appreciated ah never enjoyed unless the circumstances.~.ah... (pause) the circunstances is so that that joke or story is appropriate. A good story told in an inappropriate place is dead an it has no life in it. The circumstances, the surround in circunstances ah must be applicable an suitable for the story in order for it to have life an have meaning to it. LONG. Do you think that telling any of these stories for the tape recorder has changed the way you tell them? MULL. I didnlt under exactly understand that. LONG. Well, you know, like, you know, having to sit here wi th the microphone and everythi ng an d thi nk abou t telli ng the stories into the tape recorder. If you were Dust telling them as you usually do, would you tell tbem differently, maybe be more relaxed or ? Ml~L. Ah I would be more relaxed an probly the stories or joke would have a better application to it ah because I would be doing somethin that I had been customed to over a period of years for that which 1 1m doin now is something that's just new an I'm genlly used to speakin to a large group of people an ah ah course Christian people too. Ah ...1 Im ... I ... I ... I 'm ...I 1m talkin bout a church an ... ah ... the jokes that I tell th en is always ... ah Bometh i n that IS in the service among the people that reminds me of that joke that makes it appropriate for the occasion. LONG. Do you like to work them into your sermons sometimes, you know, as maybe little ah MULL. They are certain LONQ tales, you know? M{~L. They are certain things that you can ah work into your message that will put life an meaning in your message that bears out an conveys a thought ah that will hep the people understand what you're talking about an will hep you put over your point. LONG. Could you tell me why you like to tell tales and stories to other people? What to you get out of it yourself? MULL. I ... I recon if I was to go bac k an say where I got that from, would be from my father an my parents. My father an mother were good 01 timey people, lively. They jus loved young people an we had a large crowd a young people at our house visi t us very 0 ften an Momma an Pappa loved em an they conducted themself in a way where the young people would always come back. They were always funny an lively an jokenly an I guess it jus rubbed off on me. LONG~ Ah do you think people tell the same kinds of stories as they use to, you know, when you learned your stories? MULL. Well of course ah everything is improved in some way or nother. Ah we don't use the 01 Southern drawl as they some people calls it now an sometimes it takes something like thht to bring out actually what's in a story. Ah we speak ah more in more fluent English now than we did back then an ah ah maybe more to a point an some a the stories why ah sounds better with that type of language, English ah than the 01 folk stories did, some of em donlt. Ah the circumstances alters the case in a whole lot a things an that's our conversation as well as our life an other things. LONG,. Are there any stories or tales that have a special meaning to you? Ah you know, maybe something youlve experienced in your life, something that says something to you yourself? MULL. Yes, 1. .. 1 hear things that ... ah ... continually reminds me of things that's happened in my life. 1 1 wouldn't be able right now I suppose to jus tfuillnk of any but ah have been so many things that happened to me in my life that brought out a meaning that I probly didn't understandJuntil that happened an then 1 1 would know an understand an could see better ah why those things happen. LONG. Do you think that a person can learn anything from how to live from these stories or are they just for en~ertainment? Do they have anything really deep to say about, you know, any instruction to people and how to live a better life or they just for fun? MULL. Well ... ah ... part ... part a the stories of course are constructive an an has a deep meaning in em that we can ah benefit from an some of em's just purely entertainment. LONG. How do you feel when you're{belling stories? Do you ever feel personally involved with the story that youfre telling. MULL. Well, unless you do feel personally involved ... ah ... your story's not gonna go over very good. Anything that we can't get in oursef, we're not ah we're not apt to be very very successful in it. You got to become involved personally ah if you are to put your ah story over. Now ah I . I did want to say this concerning the New Testament. (pause) Ah the one reason that it's it1s means so much to me. When I went back to the church an apologized for my wrong doin, I accepted the New Testament as the guide lines for my life. An I've tried to live as I understood the teaching a the New Testament an I call that involving myself in the New Testament an by involving myself in the New Testament an its teaching it's been such a wonderful blessing to me. LONG. And another question. Why do you think some people tell the 01 stories an others don't? What is it in people that make some of them tell stories? MULL. Ah ... they's people that ... they got ... they got life in em. A person that's lively.w.ah they like ta they like ta ah ah le a ah spread some sunshine in people lives. Now there's nothing, even our our doctors an our science tells us thera's nothin any better for us than a good laugh (pause) actually hap you. (pause) A good laugh (pause) or to mix an m-mingle with a group a people that's jolly an you have ah ah ah something that ah ah something in it that that perks you up an an you'll you'll just you'll you'll l6ve it an then when you go home, you don't f.orgit it ah for the nex several days an maybe for the nex several weeks. As you think about this meeting or the oooasion that you've been in you'll go baok an you'll relive that (pause) an . ah you'll still re-enjoy it, where if it was dull an draub an ah w-was listless, disintersted, you .. you1ed like to shake it off get shed of it just as quiok as you oan. LONG. Ah well I'd like to thank you very muoh for answering our questtons. THE LONGWI NDED EVANGELIST~} MULL. I always did a kick .:4,get a kick when I.~.I thousht of a little boy after a evangelist preadher had run his.~. ah service fer three weeks. On the closin night, he said, "Everone tha t has attended all the servi cas s tandup." A large overgrown woman about three pick handles across the hips stood up. He said, "Sister," says, "you attended all the services?" Ahe says, "I been here ever night." He said, "Well) now, you just go ahead an tell the people how you feel about the services." She tore a face up an said, "1 'm so full I can't talk," sat down. The little drauk(?) boy stood beside of her. Said, "Now Son, tell us how you feel about it." He said, "1 ' m like Mond., I justUoout got a belly full of it. 1/ Tape 2, side 2; 307-325. Tale Type; 1832. Boy AnswePB the ?riest. Motif: J1269. Repartee based on church or clergy: miscellaneous. ~} THE WINDMILL PREACHER MULL. I use'; to get a lot a kic~ outa teasln the young preachers when the after I had several years on myself, experienoe under my belt an I was always lntersted in young preachers. I llke to invite em out because I knew they had to have some practioe. I'd let em preach for myself an my folks an I had a joke I used to tell (laughs) on em, especially George. 1 1 had a lot a ah respect for George an I loved im very muoh an I liked to tease him: George was a man that was always was r.eligiously inolined. Ah when he was striplin of a boy, he ah had a tendenoy to want to be a preaoher. He said people were so nioe to em. Ah they'd fix nioe meals prepare nioe meals an invite em out to e~t with em an after they got through with the message in the ohuroh, why people'd oome up an shake hands with em an oompliment em an say nioe things about em an he said he just he just had a hankerin be wanted to be a preaoher. So finally he felt that he had the oall an he got him an appointment out to a little country ohuroh. So him an his wife got in the 01 jalopy an throwed the two ohildren in the baok seat an out they went. An they approaohed the ohuroh as he walked in the door, he seen the glass a water thl1lt USE" t",. 8..lImys sit on the pulpit in overy church. B said, "Why this church is right UP to date." Says, "There's that gleBs III .rater." Sunde.y School NO.S over ,md they turned the service over to him fcl.n he got up there fcl.n rc,ad his scri pture lesson, had prB.yer, an scor(~d loose 8.n preached >about t(~n minutes, turncd up the gloss an dr:Jmkt :2\bout hC'.lf of it. Tore loose again for about ten minutes, turned up the glass an emptied it 'im pr"ached .about fiften m:1nutes, dismiss13d but nobody didn't com" up 8.n sh",.!{e hnnds with him, Nobody didn't COlllpliment him ner !i).SIlt him to go hom" 1IIith em. It sorts got him at the p:1t of his stom"ch, but George 1IIas a good man, He could take it. So him an his wife an children got :1n the 01 jmlopy ~m stc'rted back home. He thought surelly his wife ~lould sP.y some encouragin l,rords to him, but 8.S they rodE3 8.long back homl') , shel never I')ven mentioned it. Till they turnod up in think nbout my sE1rmont this mornin?" She sm.ys, "Georgll, II says, "you "re the onl;)' windmill over I sllen that run by vni',ter. If T.pe~2, side 2; 327-381 Motifs: J1269. Repartee based on church or clergy: miscell,~. n~ous X4Lf5. Pm.rson refresh<'1s himself durIng the sermon. go THE PREACHER AND THE LITTLE BOY;; MULL. A long time ago us greedy country preachers ah roads was so rough an we most of us country preachers pastored four churches an some sometimes some of em was a good long ways from home. An ah we'd go down an preach on Sunday an ratherln have to come back Sunday night over them rough roads, weld just spend the night an come home on Monday mornin. After a Sunday night service, started home one Monday mornin I met a little boy in the road an ah I picked him up an as we was riding along he noticed the Bible layin long beside of me. He said, "Is you the man that preached down at the church last night?" He said, 1'1 tried it.'1 or I said, "I tried it." An the little feller sbid, "Well, you couldn't hardly make it could ya?" But that wasn't exactly what's I wanted, I know it wudn1t but Tape 2, side 2; 386-404 Motif: J1269. Repartee based on church or clergy: miscellaneous. THE MINI STER THAT WOULDN t T EAT"f MULL. Here t s one that was probably more truth than fictiions' ~ I used to get a lots kick out of about the 01 minister that refused to eat supper. Said if he eat supper that he couldn't preach to do no good. all went on to church an after Well they all eat supper an ~ece.)S the servic~ a little boy come ) aroun an said, "preacher,"said, "you just might as well '7/1 a eat your supper hadn't ya. Tape 2, sid~ 2; 408-~17 Motif: J1269. Repartee based on church or clergy: miscellaneous. THF~ HAUNTED HOUSE{} MULL. I'll never forgi t when I was a young kid at home an that's been a long time ago to ah . bout the only way there was to pass off the time then, there was no TV, no radio and no way agoin much, an bout the only way we had to pass off the time was to go spend the ah bedtime with a neighbor or them come spend bedtime with us. An the 01 folks sat around an talked about these 01 ghost stories baok yonder an I used ta go to bed scared to death there to hear them tell about the 01 haunted house: There was a . they couldn't get nobody to stay in that house. Ever ever time a person'd go there to spend the night, why there's a hant'd run em off. So this 01 feller, he decided he'd stay. He he wadn't ascared a nothin. So . ah he taken ,the job an went . built him up a fire in the fireplace an had his supper an got everthing ready, pulled off his coat an hat, built him up a good fire in the fire place an brought his paper along to read an set down to started begin to readin. The 01 haunt walked around in front of him an pulled the paper back said, "Ain' nobody here tonight but you an I are they?" An the man said, "Naw, an if you wait till I get my hat, there won't be nobody here but you." Tape 2, side 2; ~21-~SO Motif: night. an me." J1495.3. Man attempts to stay in haunted house all Ghost tells him, I~here ainlt nobody here but you Man says, 'IAnd I ainlt going to be here long. 11 Cj3 THE HIGT{ BALL1f MULL. I'm reminded of the 01 Georgia boy that worked his way up into the major leagues ah the New York Yankees was carrin him along on their list as a pinch hitter ah . as we sometime oall it a bench warmer. They were locked horns with the WashJ.ngt(Jl'\Senators,went into the nJ.nth inning the score all tied. The manager called the 01 Georgia boy off a the bench an told hJ.m, '~ow, you go over there an you just lose that ball. Knock it plumb out a the park." The 01 boy went over to the plate, takJ.n his a position, an 01 Walter Johnson, the 01 speedball kJ.ng he wound up an turned that ball a lose. It saId, "Zlpl" UmpIre saId, "Strikel" He turned around an saId, "Mr. Ump," sald,'il,ldld you see that ball?" He saJ.d,,"No." He saId, III dIdn't either but," saId, "it sounded a lIttle hJ.gh. u Tape 2, sLtJ, 2; 453-475 IVfrs. Emily Ellis Mrs. Ellis seemed to enjoy telling her tales to us even though she smid thCl recordClr made her nervous. She seemed to relax more as she began to tell her amusing stories and 111ughed ~Ji th ev<',ryon00 001se s.t the punch lines. Although she work/!'d with a list of story titles in hor hFind to help h<'lr keep them str:;d.ght, she lml;lw the storles l1ell from memory Hnd did not have to rehears<!ll.them before they were recorded. r~rs. Ellis talked from a fJitt1ng position with her hm.nds folded. She kept her body still during the session and showed little animation for the most part. Wh00n 118 first contacted Mrs. Ellis, she could remember only L~ fEH~ stories but by the time she hD.d thoup;ht about what sh<'\ kneI'T for a few "18elm sh<'\ VIIJlS !!tble to remember mB.ny more. 'I'hf'\ pf'\ople in h(~r fswJ11y all said thro.. t Hrs. Ellis was the best story teller in their fsmily, both for her good m"mory of det8.J.l and h",r vmy of delJ.vcr,V. ELLIS IN'rrmVIEH LONG. "V/hat is your De,me and &.ddress?" ELLIS. "Emily Ellis, Route 3. Cedartown, Georgia." LONG. "Could you please tell me when and where you weI'''' born?" ELLIS. "Ah here in Po lk County (Georgia.) in 1930." LONG. "Uha!; is your occupation?" ELLIS. "I te;1.ch sohool." LONG. "Could you tell me something [l,bout your general background? Something a.bout your flil,mily, l1here you grew uP. and hOVT U.fe t'TSI.S when you were growing up. ELLIS. "I grew up ... ah ... here in Polk. County and it was . ah my flil.ther fe.rw'ld and we Nere a.lways had enough. ~'. 9.h e!'lt to eat an enough clothes to we!'lr but we ~I(,ren' t Net;),1thy by any mee,nB." LONG. "Could you tell me how you lee,rned your stories? Did you leF.\rn them 9.13 a child or wh"n you l""re older?" ELI,IS. "Ah some of these I heard as ,"I, child bu.t most of these are stories tho.t my fe.ther-inl-'lavT told. An he is deAd. nm1 but he ah had. a l'11"e.lth of stories tim he WB.S 6',lways glad to tell 'em. u LONG. "Hould you say that there WB's ,9.nyon('. in the oommunity that 1'1813 Jm0l<111 as the story teller?" ELLIS. <"'/ell one person when I W8.S a ch11d W8.S ... ,9.1'1 ... 13. r;reat uncle of mim~. Uncle St'~rlil1g Young, an he W1I.S 111.1l1ays a a great story teller 9.nd he 118.S known 8.13 0. sort,9, fl local l'I1't." I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I LONG. "Do you have any rA.vori te story, and if so why is it your favoril:te?" ELLIS. "Ah ... I guess the fA.vorite ... my favorite is the one where the preacher had the pigeon in the loft but ah it an it's my favorite just because I thin), it's particul@ rly funny." LONG. "Do you hlwe any special type story you like to tell the best?" ELLIS. "Ah no, I like ones that 1)'.1'19 you know funny. That are better than than the ones that have sort of a slack punch line. I like the re.'ll hI". ha kind." LONG. iI\!!hen do you ummlly t,..11 :y-our tn.lea'? Is there "-YW speeied. time?" gLLIS. "1.11011 the .. the ... I have found that a lot of theRe stor.1as and the onps that mother told me, are more children's stories than this sorta thin" ths.t you've been recording. I tell my f1.rRt graders the same ones !"lother told likA 8.h "Billy Bobtail" "'.nd "Drake' a Bill," an all those that were told me as a child. An some of them you finll now in storybooks but at that time when she told them to us you u8u8.11y didn't." LONG. "They were in oral tradition?" KLLIS. "Urn hum" (nods in agreement) LONG. "You think that telling these stories for the tape reoorder has chl.nged the way that you tell them emy?" ELLIS. "Yes 1.t has soml'! because ... " LONG~ "HOI-'?" ELLIS. t1 IJust because it made rne nervous kl1.owin thf=J.t they were bein taped." LONG. "Hh,Y do you like to tell tales and stories?" ELLIS. "Ah just for tha ras.ction thl'.t peopla have. An it's if you if you tell them to people th8.t don't seem to enjoy them It's not any fun. 1~hat takAs "11 the klck out of 1.t." LONG. "Do you thin), peoplo tell storle:o; to each other as much as they used to 1.n olden days?" gLLI~3. ""(ell nrob?bly not ]wcause they have ah so many other means of entertalnmemt. In f8,ct I know I don't tell my own chlldr(1n storlas as much as Mother told them to us." LONG. "You thlnk this ls bad?" ELLIS. "Yemh I do to a c0rtnin extent. Cause 8. lot of things that children p;it from television are are good I don't mean to say that, but you loose a lot of ah \'rarmth and contRct N1.th your parents and other mnmbers of the family when you tell these storles." LONG. "Doed it maka G\. klnd of bond betl-renn people who've B.INays heard the same stories?" ELLIS. "Yeah it docs, it does." LONG. "ArEl thElre any stories or tales that hlJ.ve a special meanlng to you'! Hayb"" not just jokes but chlldhood tales or @.ny oth",r kind?" EL.L1S. "'dell I guoss this one nn you have it on YOll have it on tBpe "Billy Bobtall" does to me an I don't know why thls jus meant home. I guess !Viother must have told 1t to me thousHnds of tlmes." LONG. "Do you think thFlt 8. person can lElarn B.nythinp; about how to live from thmse storles, or ar(~ they just for ""ntertfl. 1.nment?" ELLIS. "Oh sure I thinlc ... I think most of them ... and 8.h this is not original but ah I read in El book about Lincoln on~ time the reason he enjoyed them they were so typical of people and the way >Jeople react to different situa.t10ns. An in 8. WHy t;h8.t's Wh8.t makes the 10\<1 key story funny. It's it's beca.use it's so tyoically hu1TIBU,.' u LONG. "How do you feel wh~n you're telling thene stor1e8? Do you get person,glly involved?" BLLIS. "Yeah uSl181ly. and you find yourself specially thflse short funny onos you finel yourself tellin it a little bit d1fforently every time. And if you remember the way you told it that was the funn1est then thqt's tho way you tell it." LONG. "Hhy no you thtnk some people do tell th", old stories and somp, don't anymore?" ELLIS. "'.'1ell I suppose part of it is persomtlity of the person, CR.use some people just don't., .I'm sur", you found that ... this true in t:r.,yin to gi t storios from poo ... some of th'lm just won't bother to tell ya .',nd you 1'11.0\'1 that they lcl1O\Q 'em. It's jWlt not fun to ,'.em so I guess if you git personal gratification from tellin stories then you you t"ll 'em an if you don't you don't." LONG. "Do you thlnk that telllnr; stories to your ch:\.ldren th8.t 'I16re told to yon, and 0'V6n p"rhD,ps to som<'\one like your great ,o;:r.andtnoth,~r, gives you 8, feeling of oontinuity?" gU,IS. "YElah I thlnk ... r thll1.k that, ~'h,,, ... ".nd I thlnk thfl.t you heW" l.lD obl1..o;ation to to tell your chtlclren this sort of thlng. It' ,"1 part of th" ir heritage and they should, b(~ allowed ta ta enJoy them ..',md t8 f(~(;1 part of' the fo.mily \bD [<ts as far as the stories go,. II LONG. "You told me a oouple of preaoher stories. Do ;'{ou feel that people \~ho tell these humorous stories that make fun in a way of the preaohers are mRking fun of them RS people, or are making fun of religion in any way?" 1,1.1.1,'). "No it's .iust .. ah . .. somethin fUlmy about ... now for example all the stories that are told about teaohers ,9,n I don't takffi that personally at all. So and I don't think most pr,~aohers tal{(~ that as a pe't'sona1 thing. And there are stori""s I hnve heard that partiou1ar1y modern stories that seem to me sacre1igious. An it's just me and my oultural baokground but to me they arem't funny beoause th(~y are saore1igiou8. They'r(~ not bein they're not laughin at the human part, they're laughin at somethin e1so." LONG. "Do you think thA,t people thnt take theJ.r religion vc,ry 8cerioucoly and it plays an important part in the ir life, tell funny stories about preaohers but not about their r<'lllgion?" ELLIs. "ThElt' s rJ.e~ht. And thJ.s is the r>;reat deRl of diffprence. u LONG. "Hell thRnk you very much for annw"ring our questions. n ELLIS. "You're very \~e1oom",." \0 \ The Dove in'the Loft * Once this aI' country preacher had heard of ah using different sort of props to make his sermons more meaningful, and he decided that he'd put a little boy up in the loft with a dove, and he was gonna preach his sermon about Jesus's baptism. And he told the boy when he got to the p!',rt place where "La, the Dove of the Lord decended from the Heavens" to let the dove loose. \-Iell he got all warmed up ,..ith his sermon and he said "And 10, the Dove of the Lord decended from the Heaven8" and nothin happened. So he said it again (louder voice) "And 10, th<'l Dove of the i Lord decended from the Heavens" and still nothin. So he repeated it the third time, this time a little louder. An the little boy stuok his head down from the loft and 8aid "Preaoher, the oat done et the pigeon, you l'/ant me ta thrm.. the oat down?" Tape 3, side 1; 273-288 'I'ale 'l'ype: 1837 The Parson 1:2 ~ A ~ Fly In The Churoh. It Dies In His Pooket Or Has Other Aoo1den:tT: - -- ---- - -- Motif: X418. Parson is to let a dove fly in the ohuroh. It dies in his pooket. 10g, Pound Cake":- And then there was this lady thRt had prepared a wedding feast. And her specialty was a pound cake. And she put dozens of eggs and good rich country butter and all sorts of things in it. And just as they got the table ppread with the best cloth and all this good food, this pur old man came by and asked for somethin to eat. And the hospitality of those days demanded that they invite him in. And he set down to the table and she noticed that he cut him off a big slice of pound cake and lathered it up with butter and ate it with his vegetables. And then another slice and another slice and she kept passin loaf bread and biscuits, corn bread, and he wouldn't have any. And finally she just got real insistent as the pound cake got thinner and thinner and he said, "No," sal.d, "you jus ... you just keep that for your other guests and I'll just eat this 01 yeller bread. " Tape 3, side 1; ~~~-3~~ Motif: Jl.742.7. Back woodsman eats yellow pound cake, thl.nkl.ng it is inferior to whl.te bl.scuits the hostess tries to get him to eat. \03 Uncle Billy and the Indian * And ah this was a story that was told about Uncle Billy. Now Uncle Billy was a preacher. And he WlS known to be very oonscientl.ous and to believe in divine revelations and things of this nature. And he also believed in predestination, that when your time came to die that youJd just die and there wouldn't be anything you could do about it. But he was gitten ready for a trip through some dangeres Indian territory and he was gitten his gun all ready. So somebody (falters) meaning to leid him a little bit said "Hell Uncle Billy they' s no use you taldn your gun", said "if it's time for you to die", said "you ,just goin to die anyway." Said "just just aocept it and just leave your gun at home." He said, "Yeah. but you cain't ever tell, it might be some Indian's time to die." Tape 3. side 1; 305-319 Motif: J1269. Repartee based on church or clergy: miscellaneous. The Vision of the Corn * And another one of his neighbors ah tried to take advantage of this belief of Uncle Billy's (revalations). Went up with a ah empty corn wagon. And he said "Uncle Billy" said "the Lord spoke to me last night and told me to come up here and git a load of corn from you." And Uncle Billy stood there for a minute and he , said "Well" said "That s strange" said "'rhe Lord spoke to me too and told me that he'd changed his mind and he didn't mmt you to git it." Tape 3. side 1; 320~329 Motif: K66(ca). Man goes to preacher, tells him of dream in Which the Lord has told him the preacher will give him a load of corn. Preaoher: He ohanged his mind; htll told me this morning not to let you have it." lao ) Letters :l.nthe Sky * And then ah one time there was this preacher that was supposed to be called and he'd been a boy that was fairly young and he'd just been awfully rough. And then' just overnight he a.h Was converted etnd called to preach. And the church \qhere he was suppos' d. to be li'censed. was divi'ded about ~Thether they should license him to preach or not. The older people at the church just couldn't believe in thi's quiok conversion. And some of the younger members thought they oughta go ahl!lad and and li'oense him sa,id. So they W3re aru;uin it and one of , the younp;(er ories got up and said "Vlell nOVT you just cain t Ii doubt that this boy is cl3,llE'd. SAid "Re' looked up in tho fillY' nnd sai'd he SAW in flamin letters "G P C"lIand sed.d "they he knelq thi's meant Go Preach (pause) Christ." And he talked on about how how sincere this boy was an all thi's sorta thing and when he finally set down this old Deacon'stood up thA,t this boy's , in the back emd he said "now I don t doubt I ( II II been converte~ an sai~ I don't doubt that probably he saw the flamin letters in the sky but" he said "I know this boy real well and said I think that he's just mR,de a mistake in judgement and didn't und(~rstand vrhat God. meant for him to do." Said "1 firmly believe bretherl1 thf,-t thts G 1.1 C meant "Go ptck cocLon." (Laughs) Letters in the Sky (can't) Tape 3. side 1; 230-357 Mofif: x459.1.1. Young man plowing corn sees letters "Po C." formed by clouds. He explains situation to minister, asks to be ordained. The minister explains that the letters mean "plow corn" instead of "preach Chri'st." \ol-i Gain Courtin '1' Th~r@ then there was this oountry boy that had gone down to court one of the neighbor girls. And so h@ w,,-s s i ttin out on the poroh t''''lkin to his girl friend and he got just !it little bit too friendly with her, and her (p9.use) father '~HS look in out the wl.nder n.nd he came out with", shotgun und"'r his D.rm. And thC1l boy jumped off the porch and split to run just as fast n.s he could go, hit the cabbg'.ge patch Sl.nd stirred up 8.n old rabbit. Be said "Git out of tho ,'my rmbbit <md let somebody run th"t lmows how. " Tape 3, side 1; 359-369 Motifs: X760. Jokes on courtship. J14'9.5.4. r~R!.n rm.cl.ng with ghost outru.ns r8.bbit. (Maw runninp; from ma,n witl1 shotgun outraces ra,bbit.) 10'6 The Boy at the Horse 3de l' An then there WElS thls ah ... oh ... little boy tht3.t hmdSl. horse 8.t a horse sale. An the little boy' d boen p,\\1id a qum,rter to rlde the horse "',round. make him look good. And one of the prospective buyers sorte. si~~ied up to thEl bo;y ,md s:ll.ld "Boy, II s[dd lite11 me oonf identlaly" Said "hadn't this horse got the splints?" And th<'l little boy looked at him lAnd he says "'ilell I remlly don't know feller. but if it's good for him he's got it an if he* aln't he ain't." {~ \11hen telling this story for the flrst ttme , l"Irs. Ellis smid "it" 83.t this point lnstead of "he-. II Tape 3. side 1; 370-380 Motlfs: K130. S.lo of worthless anlm.ls. K13l~. Deoeptlve horse sale (or trade). .. All Of 'rhese Are Mine" An ,this man ~rent ah off into a neighborin COtnmunity and married. An he sorta lied about what he his possesions were. But anyway. on the way home everytime thEly'd come to 8. herd of sh",ep or c8,ttle or anything of tha.t n8.ture h~l'd. stroke hi's wh1'skl"lrs and say to his new bride "All of thl"lse arl"l mine." And on down the road. to the next farm pretty farm and he'd. stroke his whiskers and. say "Aih1l. of these are mi'ne." And. the next field. that had. good lookin hogs he'd. strolce those whi'sk",rs and. say "All of these are mine." And fin8.11y at the end of the road. they stopped s,t this old tumbled down shack. And. he said "This is home." And she said "Why 'you been lyin to me all this time." He said "No I haven't" said "I was when I was strokl.n my whi'skers I said all of these are mine." And she said "You're the l'iiggest durn liar I've ever seen" and shf'l ~rent back home. Tape 3. side 1; 382-402 liD "Alli Of These Are !'line" says 8, wooer 8.8 he strokes hl.s jrhiskers. The girl thl.nks he 1s indioating the fields and livestook past which they are riding. 'I'he l~ule and the llighlife * Ah then there Nas this oolored man that had a big lond of logs ... or poles ... femee posts on 8. wagon an the 01 mule pulled and pulled and he finally just got to w'here he oouldn' t go [my futh<'lr and he stopped. An the old man oouldn't lit him started for nothin. So this mHn oame along on ah a horse 9.nd he said "Hhm.t' s the m8.tter'?" IJmd he s8.id "This 01 mule done stopped" and said "I o8.1n't git hlm 8\ goln again." So he sald "Well I've got. little highllf. here ln Illy s8.Cldle bag" Setid "Let's se@ what that'll do for him." So he got out wi th the hlghlife ".n put 8. little blt under th<'J mule's tn.ll an the 01 mule stood there for a minute and s~Tlshed hls tall from slde to side lald hls ears bCl.ck. And them h", :lust split to run. And slung po,sts evorwhore :Y.n tore the wO,";on up. tor", the tongue out jus t l'lent over the hlll in a great big hurry. And the 01 Nigger just stood there. And after 811 the dust h8.d settled hEl s8.id "Hell dS0.ld "r')aster" said "I rElokon you'd bett<'lr put little of that hlghllf. on me. I got t,9. os.toh that mul",." Tape 3. sld", 1; 403-426 , It "Me All'Face" Oh, there's an Indian walkin along with his very few clothes on an this white man said to him said "Aren't you cold?" said "this is mighty bad. weather to be walkin around with no more clothes on than that." An the Indian said "No." An and the man just wouldn't leave him alone said "Io/ell you just look... just look silly to be goin along With no more clothes on than that." Said "you ,just ...you sure you're not colo?" And the IndiAn said "Is your face cold?" An he said "No." And the Indis.n said "Me all face." Tape 3" side 1; 1.j.28-1I,I~,O ~10tif: J1309. 6. Man asks naked Indian if he is not oold. Indian asks if man's face id cold. Man replies that it is not. Indian replies: "Me all face." l \').. 'ELLIS. Oh t this one's stan's too. One tlme thls Deacon VTaS goin to church and. they had to walk in those days had s long way to go. And he set out llHthe "foods just splc 8.nd. span with hls best clothes on. An When he got to church he was lookln the wurst lookln feller you've ever seen, just dlrty and wet alloVer, just soakln soppln wet and lost hls hat. An the preacher sald, se.ld "Deacon whe.t happened to ya?" He sald "Vlell you know down there where I have to crOSB the creek on a footlog?" said "I jU8t had stepped up on a foot log an I looked up on the other end. And there was a great blg bea.r. II And sald. "I looked a.round behlnd me (pause) an there was Hnother great blg bea.r. II And he sald II I ,just jumped off ln that creek and swam across. II He sald "Vlell now that was a foollsh thlng for you to do" M! sald "Hhy dldn't you just callan the Lord?1I He se.ld II NOI" ll:sten preacher" sald "the Lord Almlghty 113 just great ln a prayer meetln but he ain't much at a. beeT meetin. tt Tape 3, s lde 1; lj/fLf-46'+ Notlf: J1269. Hepe.rtee based on church or clergy: mi'scellaneous. 113 ) The Lord, 'rhe Devil, and the 1,1alnuts l(. One day tvlO tramps were N8,lkin down or night and they had to pass they Dad to pass a cemet~ry (pause) and they ho",rd voices, so they stopped emel listened and they heard this voice sa.:Ving "You take this one "'n I'll t",ke that one, you t",l{e this one an I'll take that one." And what they didn't Imov.r ... that tl~O men had come along earlier and shook a Nalnut trElf'! and they were dividen up the Nalnuts. And as they set there listenin (Nhisper) "You tS.ke this one, I'll take that one." And they said "Hhat is ths.t?" And one of them g'aid. "vIell I think it's the Devil an the Lord di vicl~n up the p"opl,~ in the cemet~ry." And just as they had rp'lwhed this conclusion one of the men said (loud voiced "And I'll take the two on the outside." An nobody saw the tretmps any more. Tape 3, side 1; 471-489 \ I J.\> TaM 'Type: 1791. The Sexton Carries The Parson. Amr'lrican variants usually ha;;;-t~lo boys dividlng nuts or other articles in the graveyard rathl'lr than sheep theives. In those stories, listeners outside the cemctery wall think the boys are the Dcwil and the Lord dividing the 80uls. They hear "One for you, one for me." As the boys come to the end of their pile, one says n'rhe. t' saIl excepb for those two outs ide the wall. Ii 'rhe listeners leave at full speed. (Ernest Baughman) The Two Color",d tllen and the Pig * An then one time two colored men were gain down the road in a wagon. And they smr a a pig. And they looked around an they declded It didn't have anybody that belonged to tt. it didn't look like it was gain anywhere, particular. So they got it up an tussed it up right good an put it in the baclr of the ,ragan. And no sooner had they done this than here came the sheriff. So one of 'em said "Grab hlm up here an put your coat on 'im." So they put the coat around the pig and put him up between them on the wagon seat an tried to look very nonchalant. An the sheriff came along beside of 'em and sure enough h@ drem up his horse an stopped. And he said "!'1here you boys gain?" They said "Gain, home." ItWhat you been doin?" ItNothin." ItVlel1 what's your names?" One of them said welli.hiLs name was Rbbert and the other one satd It\Vell m~name' s Herbert. It "~lell Hhat' s your name there in the middle?1t An one of them jabbed the 01 pig wi th his elbow an the pig said ItOink." And the pig Em the sheriff said "\"ell that's alright then. go on." So they went on down the road and after they left theJ sheriff stood there for a minute and scrs.tched his heJad you know s.nd he said "Vlell I I've seen that Robert somewhere before. I think. and that other feller., but I swear. that dUl'ned Oink Nas the ugliest me,n I ever Baw. II \\5" The ':rwo Colored I~en and the Pig (con' t) Tape J. side 1; 490-52) Moti,fs I K406. Stolen animal clisguidecl as person so that thief may escape deteotion. Ki8iO. Deoeption by disguise. The Hog \'/ho \lore Buttons 1f An then there was one about the all man that went out to celebrate. An when he got horne he missed the house and wand up out at the mig pen. An he got all settled down in the hog waller. An he reached over and put his arm around the old sow an rubbed his hand up and down her stomaoh and he said lit swear rqaude, I didnlt know you had all them buttons on your gown." Tape 3. side 1; 525-535 Notlf: X800. Humor based on drunkeness. \ \'1 J'. The Clever Peddler and the Razor straps" In this community was ah ah a little 01 store an the people that hung out there had got the reputation of bein real smart alecks. They could just git the best an outwit anybody that happened to come by. So one day this peddler came by and he was sellin ra razor straps to sharpen straight razors on ahd he got in the store an they asked him what he had. And he said he sure did have some fine razor straps .. or strops I think they call them. But anyway ah he said, "Well, how much are they?" And he said, "Well 1 1 gi t a dollar for em, "the peddler said. So the local wit said said, "Why," said "You can git a razor strap like tlflat anywhere for fifty cents." And the peddler sald, "Well, I'll tell you what," said, "If you buy one of my straps for a dollar and then you see one like it sell anywhere for fifty cents, I'll glve you fifty cents back." So ah . he bought one an then turned to his friend an said . another one of the bright boys an sald, "Would you like to buy a razor strap?" An he said, "Yeah," he'd like to. Said, "Well, I'll sell it to you for fifty cents." Well they all had a big laugh and the peddler joined in laughln with em and he said, "Well, you really outwitted me, so here's your fifty cents." So \ \'3 How the Drunk Got Out of the Gra've ~f An then one night a drunk vms gain through a graveyard (pause) an oh previously though this man was Isoin just a just a plain 01 sober man was gain through a graveyard an he fell into an open grave. He tried an tried to git out. He tried to make some little footholes an get out an he couldn't do that. So finely after wearin himself out he thouf1;ht "\1",,11 I'll just hafta stay in here till mornin an maybe help'll come by." So he lay down an went to sleep. An then the drunk carne along stumblin through the ceme~ry an fell in the grave too. An he Nas tryin to git out. An the first man said "Therl's no use in you tryin. you can't get out." But he did. Tape 3. side 2; 052-060 Mot~fs: X828. Drunk person falls in open grave with humerous results. J1782. 'rhings thought to be ghosts. all the other men in the store, since the peddlerld been such a good sport, bought straps too, so he made a right good sale. And on his way out there was a a man leanin against the door face and he said, "Well," said, "there's just nobody comes in here that these da guys don't git the best of." An the peddler says, "Thatls what I had heard so I was prepared for them." He said,llI always sell these straps for twenty five cents apiece. 11 Tape 3, side 2; 000-019 "~'ak41l My Coat to Town" 11' An therets thls man was goln down the road 80 hot and tlred and dIrty. and thls man came by ln a real fancy \?O lookln buggy an dldn t t So after he had gotten offer to stop an gIve hlm a 11ft. ClY\ by~the man hollered to hIm real loud an sald "Hey" sHld "friend 1'Iould you take my coat to tovm?" An the man drew up hIs horse and saId "'clhy yeah I guess I would" but sHid "how are you gonna pIck it up" saId "vlhere you gannet II He saId "Hell I thought ltd just stay Inside of It." Tape 3. side 2; 020-025 And then they's a tale told about how Resaca, Georgia, got its name. These men ah went by this settlement and picked up a woman in the night . kidnapped her an crammed her in a sack an took her along with em. An when they go to this particular place they (pause) went in this cabin an took her out an lit the lamp. And when they saw what they she looked like, one of them said to the other, "Oh Lord, resaca (re sack her)l n Tape 3, side 2; 026-031 \~\ The Pig and the Local Politician * Then there's one about the that's always told on a local politician. That ah ho came in one nl~ht in tho same eonrUtion (drunk) and. got in tho hog vraller. An he was lyin out th"ro with the old pig an h", was rollin around an hr~ said "iJ!his sure is a good wJ.ller 1'10 got out hore, us plgs ain't it?" He ,jabbed the 01 pig next to him and. the 01 pig s8.id "OinJf.. oink." An no he slept on a 1'1hile then he roused up again an he said "1 declare this is the nicest softest juciest waller I ever was in." "Idn't that the 1~ay you feel about it?" An the old pig "Oink. oink." So he had another I, oomment to make or two to make an the 01 other 01 pig didn't say nothin but just a rel';u19.r 01 grunt and he se.id "You're not bein v(~ry friendly" said "You'll ,1unt hEtfta remember th8.t tomarra when the daylight comes .you gain I'm goih be Judge Fuller of the Supreme Court and your g01.n to he in the name 01 ... and your [';01n to br' tho f18.mo 01 ho,o;." Tape 3. sirlo 1; 536-566 'Pale 'l'ype: 1861. Jokes Q!1 .,Jud~!.. t~ot1f: X800. Humor ba.sed on drunkenness. \?3 "Eat Till Ya Bust,,~f Then there was a man in the neighborhood that had the poorest . had a big flock of the poorest goats that anybody had ever seen. Now all the neighbors would speculate about what he fed em an how bad they looked, an there wadn't a bit of grazin in the pasture or anything. So it just so happened that a neighbor happened to be at this 01 man's house when feedin time came so he (the old man) went out to the crib and got about eight or ten shucks an threw it over to the pasture to the twenty goats and said, "There damn ye, eat till ya bust. lt Tape 3, side 2; 032-038 Motif: Wl$2.13. The stingy man and his animals. The Stingy Man and His !~ul", {f An this same 01 man had a oripPled mule. An he worked him so hard. An a neighbor happened by one day when he was workin and he said said "Dudn't bother you to work thr'lt 01 mule, him OiVippled up like thI3.t?" An the old man stood a few m1.nutes an said. "I'll tell you th<'!\ way I foel 8.bout it Nr. Ellis" he said III just don't let it worry my mind." Tape 3. side 2; 039-043 Motif: W152.13. The stingy man and his animals. The Extra Stubborn Mule * An then th th<'lre viaS a mule th8. t was supposed to be so well trained. Man had him dOl'm at the tr8.de dB,y tryin to trade him ofr an he said. "Hhy this mule ts the best trained mule" said "you don't hafta S[3.y anything to him just just one little inclination of what you want him to do and he just does it." Said "You never hafta speak harshly to him or anything." But it so happened hel didn't sell the mule an he had to take him on back home. An a neighbor he.ppened by one day just in time to see him just be[3.tin the st ... t8.r out of the 01 mule f.md hel hollereld up there to him. Said "Neighbor" said "I thought that mule "TEl.S well tr8.ined." An he said "He is, he is. but" said "you h8.fta git his attention first." Tape 3. side 2; 043-051 Motifs: K130. Sale of worthless animals. K134. Deceptive horse sale (or trade). K134.6. Sellling or tradinl~ a balky horse. The Sh00 Sale sm"m' s Bald HeD.cl 1: An then th8r(~ was a shoe s8.1esmam that WaS just 8\S bt'l.ld "'.s he could be. He dldn' t hRV;1 '" hall' enyvrh'H' on hls he@.d. An he WEtS kneelln clown at thls lmdy's feet sald tryln on pall' shoes. Thls was In the days when ladl<'!s \"lOre i10ng sklrts. An ,just IitS he t'/8B tryln to glt the shoe on the lady's foot she looked down an SG\W that b2tld head Dl.n thought 1 t \"'818 her knee nn threw her dress over It. Tape 3. slde 2; 061-066 A PDF transcript exists for this recording. Please contact an archivist for access. Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions. As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. 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