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Ghost Story:
So prisintly all de ghostes am whiff away, like de fog outen de holler whin de wind blow' on it, an' li'l' black
Mose he ain' see no ca'se for to remain in dat locality no longer. He rotch' down, an' he raise' up de pumpkin,
an' he perambulate' right quick to he ma's shack, an' he lift' up de latch, an' he open' de do', an' he yenter' in.
An' he say':
'Yere's de pumpkin.'
An' he ma an' he pa, an' Sally Ann, whut live up de road, an' Mistah Sally Ann, whut her husban', an' Zack
Badget, an' de school-teacher whut board at Unc'-Silas Diggs's house, an' all de powerful lot of folks whut
come to de doin's, dey all scrooged back in de cornder ob de shack, 'ca'se Zack Badget he been done tell a
ghost-tale, an' de rain-doves gwine, 'Oo-oo-o-o-o!' an' de owls am gwine, 'Whut-whoo-o-o-o!' and de wind
it gwine, 'You-you-o-o-o!' an' yiver-body powerful skeered. 'Ca'se li'l' black Mose he come' a-fumblin' an'
a-rattlin' at de do' jes whin dat ghost-tale mos' skeery, an' yiver'body gwine imaginate dat he a ghost
a-fumblin' an' a-rattlin' at de do'. Yas, sah. So li'l' black Mose he turn' he white head, an' he look' roun' an'
peer' roun', an' he say':
'Whut you all skeered fo'?'
'Ca'se ef anybody skeered, he want' to be skeered, too. Dat 's natural. But de school-teacher, whut live at Unc'
Silas Diggs's house, she say':
'Fo' de lan's sake, we fought you was a ghost!'
So li'l' black Mose he sort ob sniff an' he sort ob sneer, an' he 'low':
'Huh! dey ain't no ghosts.'
Den he ma she powerful took back dat li'l' black Mose he gwine be so uppetish an' contrydict folks whut know
'rifmeticks an' algebricks an' gin'ral countin' widout fingers, like de school-teacher whut board at Unc' Silas
Diggs's house knows, an' she say':
'Huh! whut you know 'bout ghosts, anner ways?'
An' li'l' black Mose he jes kinder stan' on one foot, an' he jes kinder suck' he thumb, an' he jes kinder 'low':
'I don' know nuffin' erbout ghosts, 'ca'se dey ain't no ghosts.'
So he pa gwine whop him fo' tellin' a fib 'bout dey ain' no ghosts whin yiver'body know' dey is ghosts; but de
school-teacher, whut board at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, she tek' note de hair ob li'l' black Mose's head am
plumb white, an' she tek' note li'l' black Mose's face am de color ob wood-ash, so she jes retch' one arm round
dat li'l' black boy, an' she jes snuggle' him up, an' she say':
'Honey lamb, don't you be skeered; ain' nobody gwine hurt you. How you know dey ain't no ghosts?'
An' li'l' black Mose he kinder lean' up 'g'inst de school-teacher whut board at Unc' Silas Diggs's house, an' he
'low':
''Ca'se--'ca'se--'ca'se I met de cap'n ghost, an' I met de gin'ral ghost, an' I met de king ghost, an' I met all de
ghostes whut yiver was in de whole worl', an' yivery ghost say' de same thing: 'Dey ain't no ghosts.' An' if de
cap'n ghost an' de gin'ral ghost an' de king ghost an' all de ghostes in de whole worl' don' know ef dar am
ghostes, who does?'
'Das right; das right, honey lamb,' say' de school-teacher. And she say': 'I been s'picious dey ain' no ghostes
dis long whiles, an' now I know. Ef all de ghostes say dey ain' no ghosts, dey ain' no ghosts.'
So yiver'body 'low' dat so 'cep' Zack Badget, whut been tellin' de ghost-tale, an' he ain' gwine say 'Yis' an' he
ain' gwine say 'No,' 'ca'se he right sweet on de school-teacher; but he know right well he done seen plinty
ghostes in he day. So he boun' to be sure fust. So he say' to li'l' black Mose:
''Tain' likely you met up wid a monstrous big ha'nt whut live' down de lane whut he name Bloody Bones?'
'Yas,' say' li'l' black Mose, 'I done met up wid him.'
'An' did old Bloody Bones done tol' you dey ain' no ghosts?' say Zack Badget.
'Yas,' say' li'l' black Mose, 'he done tell me perzackly dat.'
'Well, if he tol' you dey ain't no ghosts,' say' Zack Badget, 'I got to 'low dey ain't no ghosts, 'ca'se he ain'
gwine tell no lie erbout it. I know dat Bloody Bones ghost sence I was a piccaninny, an' I done met up wif him
a powerful lot o' times, an' he ain' gwine tell no lie erbout it. Ef dat perticklar ghost say' dey ain't no ghosts,
dey ain't no ghosts.'
So yiver-body say':
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