Jamaican Song and Story Part 31

Then Parson Dog shake him head, run come.

An' as he run come he meet Parson Puss was wheeling all the gal.

Parson Dog get very vex an' he bear an' bear.

But as he hear plain how the sing go, an' see that some of the gal Puss was wheeling began to laugh after him, say:--"No see how him mout' long," Parson Dog get fairly upstarted till him run in the ring an' palm Puss an begin to fight him.

An', as Parson Puss feel Parson Dog 'trength more than fe him, him look for a very tall tree an' run right upon it to save his life.

An' from that day that why Dog an' Puss can't 'gree until now.

_Jack Mantora me no choose any._

NOTES.

=lovely member.= A certain amount of blarney is supposed to be admissible to keep your sheep from straying to a rival's flock.

=to married Toad.= Though they sometimes say =marry= (see the first song) they prefer =married=. The =d= before the =T= of Toad is very awkward to p.r.o.nounce, yet the reciter, whose normal speech is of the laziest, like that of all his kindred, got it out quite plainly.

=mossiful=, unmerciful. Dog really used a bad word here, which is always put in his mouth. He uses the same word in "Finger Quashy." So much does it belong to him that it occurs as a descriptive adjective to the dog in the tune for the third Quadrille figure, which will be found among the dance tunes. The word is not really very bad, but it was not considered appropriate to a book which may find its way into the nursery, so in every case another one is subst.i.tuted.

='tick=, stick. The pig was killed for the wedding festivities, which were only just beginning. See note on weddings in "Gaulin."

=play in the ring=, play Sally Water, see Ring Tunes.

=doning=, being done.

=never make him marry you=, never let him, etc.

=cut your eye=, turn your eye aside. Where we use transitive =cut= they put intransitive =cut eye=.

=wheeling=, turning them in the dance.

=run come=, came running up.

=bear an' bear=, was patient for a while. A picturesque way of describing Dog's self-restraint. He bears it and he bears it again.

=no see, etc.=, don't you see how long his mouth is. This is always the joke about Dog. About Puss it is:--"You face too (very) short. Cut off half inch you don't have nose."

=upstarted=, angry.

=palm=, touch or hold with the hand.

=fe him=, his.

x.x.x. CHICKEN-HAWK.

Once a lady have t'ree daughter. One of the daughter, the youngest one, born with a gold teet'. The other sisters h'ard of the teet' an'

ask their sister to show them the teet', but she never would show them.

One day they get Monkey an' Goat to come an' dance to let the sister laugh. They make all sort of mechanic. She never laugh all the dance Monkey an' Goat was dancing.

Those other two pay her so much to see the teet'. She won't show them.

So the second sister tell the big one say:--"Sister, let we go make bargain with Chicken-hawk to try if we can see the teet'."

So they did go an' see Chicken-hawk about it an' pay Chicken-hawk so much.

The day come when they fix up to go to the river.

Chicken-hawk was on a tree.

So they gone to swim for a long time, the big sister them swimming an'

laughing in the water for the little one to laugh for them to see the teet', but she never laugh.

During that time Chicken-hawk took up all three of them clothes an'

gone on a high tree where them can see him.

When the sister know that Chicken-hawk took the clothes they came out of the water all t'ree of them.

All the clothes was gone.

The first sister commence fe sing:--

[Music:

Chicken-hahk oh! Chicken-hahk oh! give me me frock.

Chicken-hahk oh! Chicken-hahk oh! Chicken-hahk!]

An' Chicken-hawk bring come.

The next sister do the same an' get her frock.

Here comes the youngest one. She shut up her mouth an' was calling from her t'roat:--

[Music:

Hm hm hm hm hm hm]

Chicken-hawk never give her.

When the big sister see that she won't call for them to see the teet'

they leave her, an' she become 'fraid an' call out:--